Jerry Buttimer (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

Senator Keogan is correct. At one level, it is no business of a journalist to be inquiring as to the vaccination status of any Member of the Oireachtas. It is an intrusion of privacy and I fully concur with her. I answered the question for one reason. I am a proponent of vaccination, whether it is the HPV vaccine or the Covid-19 vaccine. I am a big believer in vaccination. We are role models as legislators, and, in my opinion, if we expect people to get vaccinated, and we stand up here and make comments and act with responsibility around legislation, then I believe we should be able to say that we are vaccinated. I have gotten the two doses and the booster. The Minister of State used the lovely phrase in her response about being agile and she is right.

I say to Senator Gavan that I completely accept and understand the challenges. I would not like for anybody to think that I do not understand the challenges of the working family or, indeed, the stay-at-home family or mum or dad who are working at home with children. I know from speaking with my own family members that it poses many different challenges in getting all the competing balances right. I accept that. I will make the point again; there is no silver bullet. What we are fundamentally trying to do, however, is prevent the spread of the virus and there are two parts that work. One is vaccination, and where we should have unanimity in this House is on our vaccination programme. It works and it has worked. Imagine where we would be right now if we did not have the vaccine or the booster. Just imagine that.

I will finish on this point because I am not here for an argument or a row - anything but. Senator Gavan is kind of right, even though it kills me to say it. We have an issue with filtration in schools. As a teacher, I know from talking to many of my former colleagues and friends that there is an issue with filtration in schools. That is something we need to address in the long term when we emerge from a post-pandemic world around how our schools operate in terms of air quality, interaction and so forth.

I will make this fundamental point in conclusion. As we know, there are issues with civil liberties and human rights and none of us wants to see them trampled on or want them to be denied. When I see the amendment before me and when I talk about the impact on human rights and mental well-being, while none of us wants to be in this situation, all of us are hugely aware of the impact on the mental health of people. Our language, including my own in terms of asking that the schools close early, is important. That is why I made my call; not in an adversarial way but in a way that is trying to be helpful.

In terms of the report of the Minister of State on the amendment, I think we can drag people up to the top of the cliff and down again in terms of creating anxiety and spreading panic. Part of my difficulty with our public service broadcaster is that it drives people into panic in many different ways. There is a need for balanced reporting on Covid-19 and its impact on people.

I believe we have done a hugely positive job as a Government, however. Our HSE staff have worked extraordinarily hard and the men and women who work on the front line in our ICUs and hospitals deserve much more than a bank holiday or whatever. We owe them a debt of gratitude that we will never be able to pay.However, there are long-term repercussions from Covid that we as a society must overcome. As for where we are today, as Senator Gavan said, we are in a much better place when compared with our nearest neighbours because we took responsibility collectively, as a Government and society, to prevent the spread and we worked very hard.

Like Senator Conway, I appeal to the Minister of State to bring back Professor Brian MacCraith, the Army logistical people and the people from the outside who have gone back to their respective careers. We cannot afford to have whatever else emerge again next January or February. I am aware NPHET will make more recommendations to the Government this evening or tomorrow. I have no idea what they are. Society is waiting with trepidation. Back in the day, George Hamilton used the phrase, "A nation holds its breath". I think the nation is weary now but our role as legislators and people who lead in communities is to bring the public with us. Again, I make my contribution in a positive way that is not intended to be adversarial.