Mattie McGrath backs emergency powers to protect public health
Mattie McGrath addressed the House on emergency legislation to respond to the virus, urging powers for health authorities to close premises and limit gatherings. He expressed support for rural publicans, called for clarity on enforcement powers and endorsed measures based on the Chief Medical Officer's advice while insisting on parliamentary scrutiny.
Calls for powers to close pubs
He said publicans, especially in rural areas, are under pressure and need support but asked whether the guards, appointed medical officers or health personnel will have power to close pubs and address reports of lock-ins.
Limits on gatherings and youth congregations
He raised reports of gangs of young people congregating on railway lines and sought clarity on whether authorities would be able to limit smaller groups - for example 10 or 15 people - to prevent transmission and onward mingling in homes.
Parliamentary scrutiny and sunset date
He acknowledged calls for stronger House oversight of emergency powers, welcomed debate and said the provisions should be on the statute books with a proposed expiry in November so powers remain available if the House cannot meet.
Purpose and legal-medical basis
He stressed the measures are intended to support public health experts and save lives, not to detain people arbitrarily. He said any use of powers should follow legal advice and the Chief Medical Officer's recommendations and described the bill as an honest attempt to balance public safety with scrutiny.
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Oncola, Mr Minister, I am concerned too, and the vast majority of publicans, and good as knows, in rural Ireland especially, they are under enough pressure over the last number of years, and 99% of them, as we know, do an excellent job, I want to support them, I want to ensure they have a business, they go back to, from that point of view, they need all the support they can get, but where there are pubs, open, and lock-ins, and all these reports of what's happening, will the guard, your appointed medical officer, or health personnel, will they have power to close them down, are you going to make an order, because that needs to be done badly, because we need to treat this seriously, and if anything to see the spike today, and the spike that is anticipated, we need to have that full cooperation, also in the situation of gangs of young people, you know, I have reports in Caretown of gangs of young people on the railway line, and just up to, not that young, but teenagers, and is there some numbers, or a figure that, you know, we obviously don't want them to, we ask parents to be responsible, but where it happens that they are, you know, just getting up to no good, and just out there congregating, they have to go back to houses, and mingle with people as well, and transmission, is there limits, or are the powers going to be there to limit that, those kind of activities, I'm not talking about 100 people, but maybe 10, or 15, or whatever, so I'd appreciate some clarity on those issues. Deputy running out. To speak to the amendments before people determine whether there's a majority in the House in favour of it or not, look, I actually agree with members of this House, and this is what parliamentary debate and engagement is, about, in terms of the important role that this House obviously has to play in the scrutiny of legislation and the oversight of powers, that's why we're here, I get that, and I take Deputy Murphy's point about the primacy of this House, and that there needs to be a mechanism greater than just laying a report before the Library, I also get that point too. I just want to say though, we do need to be conscious when we're talking in this House, there's an awful lot of people in our country that are scared, and anxious, and nervous, and worried, and I think Deputy O'Callaghan really hit the nail on the head, we shouldn't be suggesting to people that we're endeavouring to take steps in this House tonight to go around detaining people. That's not what we're doing. What we're actually making sure is that we have the provision should the need arise in the public interest to save lives. Many people in this House have called on me to shut this, cancel that, do the other, did you check whether I had the powers to do it? I mean, what we're actually trying to do here is make sure on the statute books that if it becomes necessary to take steps, not on a whim that I have, or quite frankly any of you have, but on the basis of the best medical advice from the Chief Medical Officer that we can do it and we do it quickly. And if the Department of Health, in the time of a public health emergency, and the Chief Medical Officer believe these powers are necessary, I'm with them all day long. And I really do hope there's a majority in this House for that. You're right, picking a date is somewhat of an arbitrary process. Deputy Nocton suggested next May, other people in here suggested a shorter period of time. Let's be clear, we can't wish this virus away and it's going to be with us for many months and none of us know exactly how long. It seems prudent to me that we would put in a date of November to ensure that if there is a point in time where this House can't meet, or other gatherings can't take place, that we still have the powers that we need. These are powers we don't ever wish to use, but they are powers that should be there. But let's not forget, let's not forget why we're doing this. The only reason we're doing this is to support our public health experts in saving lives and keeping people well. That is the only purpose of these measures, measures that we hope we'll never need to use. And I should say, without this legislation, thanks to the support of the Irish people, support of Irish business and the collaboration, the decency of people in this country, so many events have been cancelled, so many businesses have closed their doors, because everyone has pulled together. But when you're bringing forward legislation on social welfare grounds, which was the original purpose of this bill, it seems the prudent and sensible thing to do, to give these powers. So I would respectfully ask for the House, for support in this House. I've tried to reach the best consensus I can, or the best middle ground that I can, from a variety of views and many amendments. I'm sure there's no perfect one, including mine, but it is an honest attempt, based on the legal advice that I have and the medical advice that I have as well. Goer ma'am. Thank you very much, Minister.
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