Mary Seery Kearney (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I will keep an eye on it.

Every time the Minister has come before the Seanad to discuss Covid there have been these cautious statements and fears and worries about extending the regulations and whether they involved overreach. I am very grateful and thrilled that we are here today and those regulations are no more. There is, however, still a need for caution and care when it comes to the protocols of mask wearing and washing our hands and, most of all, the booster. One would be forgiven for thinking Covid had gone away. I noted last night that we got through a whole news bulletin without Covid being mentioned, which was extraordinary. This time two years ago I had fears about my family members making it to the summer alive, so to make it through a whole news bulletin in that way was really good. There is a danger in that, and everything is relative. Naturally, we are horrified by what we see in Ukraine, so it is easy to forget about Covid, unless you work in healthcare. The people who work in healthcare are to be congratulated, lauded and empathised with for just how difficult it is. We need a new booster campaign to tell the people who were unable to avail of the booster in the first round at Christmas and in December that they are now eligible. We should get out that information.Although we have lifted all restrictions, it is necessary for us to ask what other protocols should be recommended. The first time someone stretched to shake my hand, I had a moment that we will all have in everybody's company; it is a question of doing it or not. It would be good to have some sort of information to say what would be good to do. We would not be heightening anxiety or exaggerating things but rather showing that we are still aware of how we need to get used to living with Covid-19.

I have a concern around the leaving certificate and State exams and we need a contingency plan for them. I appreciate this is not for the Minister's Department and it is not his gig but while Covid-19 remains prevalent, what happens when we still have an isolation period?