Living with Covid-19 Restrictions: Statements (Resumed)
Seanad Éireann — 2020-11-18
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Jerry Buttimer (FG), Labour Panel

I know people who have never been contacted by the contact tracing team or the HSE. In saying that, I pay tribute to the men and women working on the front line in Covid wards and ICUs for the way in which they look after and care for patients. Equally, I pay tribute to the people who work in nursing homes for the care they give to older citizens.
There is a real debate needed, whether regarding retail, sport, hospitality or education but the list goes on. This morning, the Teachers Union of Ireland made a very positive and worthwhile suggestion that 18 December would be a cut-off point for schools, which is a very tangible measure that can be taken.
With the permission of the Cathaoirleach I wish to read into the record of the House an email I received from a person who works in the hospitality sector. It reads:
We are all delighted that the numbers and coming down and look forward to reopening. However, in order to reopen we need to know next week will we be reopening on Level 3 or Level 2. There is a huge difference between both levels from a staffing, stocking and organizational point of view. We need to know how many staff to rehire, how much stock to bring in etc. In order to open again on 1st December, if we will open at all, and we need to bring staff back the week before ( 24th November) to clean and organize the reopening of the hotel again. It is not possible to reopen the business with 24 hours notice of which level we will be reopening under. We are also getting a lot of enquiries for Room Bookings for December and we are unable to take any bookings until we have outline indications.
While I appreciate that the government may not want to make an announcement on reopening levels and that public health and safety are of paramount importance and then have to backtrack, consideration needs to be given to business so that we can reopen in a timely and safe manner.
We have all received emails about public health and how people are treated. There is a need for a debate. In its contributions this week, IBEC has been very moderate in asking for clear indications. We welcome the announcement by different pharmaceutical companies with regard to vaccines, but vaccines in themselves will not be a panacea or spell the end of Covid-19. We must all redouble our efforts.
I am glad the Government did not pander to commentary on a number of small but well-documented incidents in Dublin and Cork at the weekend. To be fair, 99.1% of our population is being very compliant. As an aside, what is it costing the HSE to sponsor content, I believe the weather forecast, on RTÉ? Why is the HSE doing this when that money - if any money is being spent, I am open to correction on that - would be better used in fighting Covid-19?
I again thank the men and women in our health service for the sterling work they are doing every day. I sympathise with the people who have lost loved ones or family members to Covid-19. We all have a duty of care to ensure that the battle against Covid-19 is won and the virus is eliminated. I commend the Minister, Deputy Stephen Donnelly, and the Minister of State, Deputy Feighan, on the work they are doing.

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Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/seanad/2020-11-18/debate/main
Retrieved: 2026-08-14T04:48:48+00:00
Sitting date: 2020-11-18