Gerard Craughwell (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I join with colleagues in wishing everybody in the Houses and all of the people who kept this country working over what has been the most difficult two years a very happy Christmas. I am particularly mindful of those who will be on duty over Christmas, such as members of the Defence Forces, the fire service and the ambulance service and hospital staff. I know that friends working in hospitals are really jaded and are suffering severe exhaustion after two years of constant working with PPE and Covid and in some cases, dealing with very difficult patients because they are being moved back in queues because hospitals must deal with the current crisis. I am mindful of them today and I think we should send our good wishes to them.

Where vaccine and boosters are concerned, I appeal those who email me on a regular basis telling me all the bad things about vaccines to give it up for God's sake. If they do not want the vaccine, that is fine but do not try to turn me and other people. Let me have my vaccine. I am delighted I got the booster. I queued up for three and a half hours and would queue for 13 hours if I had to. I want to be protected and I want my family to be protected. Four members on one side of my family currently have Covid - a four-year-old, a six-year-old and their parents. It is not a nice experience but thankfully they had the vaccine and it is not as severe as it might have been. If you do not want the vaccine, that is fine. Do me two favours. One, do not contact me to tell me I should not have it and two, do not occupy a hospital bed I may need at some stage in the future because you decided not to have the vaccine. I thank Cathaoirleach for being kind enough to give us speaking time every now and then.