Mattie McGrath slams 'utter and total confusion' over hotel quarantine
Mattie McGrath criticised the Government’s handling of mandatory hotel quarantine and the rushed debate, calling the administration 'utter and total confusion' and opposing an extension. He said the scheme was introduced late, has provoked complaints from Irish people abroad, imposes financial and psychological costs, and argued home quarantine would be a viable alternative.
Debate rushed and timing concerns
The speaker said the debate was cut to 45 minutes and described the process as rushed, fumbled and illogical. He stated he had called for mandatory hotel quarantine at the start of the pandemic and raised the issue with the Taoiseach, arguing that earlier action might have avoided the present situation.
Complaints from travellers and families
He reported receiving numerous complaints, citing young Irish teachers stranded in Dubai and children unable to return home. He emphasised the human and psychological cost and criticised the financial burden of hotel stays, saying many cannot afford to quarantine in hotels and could quarantine at home instead.
Opposition to proposed extension
McGrath said he opposed extending the hotel quarantine scheme, noting uncertainty about the proposed new date and calling an extension 'too little, too late'. He described continuation of the policy as illogical and said he intended to oppose it.
Conflicting official messages
He criticised conflicting messages from ministers and advisers, saying civil servants and officials were not in sync and that different statements were vying for the airwaves. He argued the inconsistency was unfair to the public and added to the confusion around policy decisions.
Impact on hospitality reopening
The speaker also highlighted confusion about the reopening of hospitality, saying mixed messages this morning added to public uncertainty. He warned that piecemeal or poorly timed measures risked creating gaps that would undermine policy aims.
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Thanks very much for your forbearance traffic delays. Look, the situation with this was meant to be a debate now in 45 minutes. It's now down to 45 minutes. And as per usual, everything is rushed, fumbled, illogical, confusion. Unreal, Minister. You should be named the government of utter and total confusion. And mandatory hotel quarantine. Look, I call for it. I'm not going to be a hypocrite. I call for it. At the very start, when we were locking down our people and we had no one, we wouldn't allow, we allowed our open borders. And I won't be a hypocrite because I called for it. And I felt we should have. And many people were aghast. I couldn't believe it. That they had so much restrictions from worship to you name it. Matches, games, work, school and play of any kind. And then we had open borders. And I raised with the Taoiseach on this floor and the Taoiseach and the previous Taoiseach, now Taoiseach. And, no, we were good Europeans. We had to do this. And I always quoted Hungary and other countries and Poland, how they did it. And we couldn't do it. So then we introduced it late to the day. We hired a kindle out then and we got a company to do it. I have had nothing but complaints about it. From the people, young Irish teachers out in Dubai and trying to come home for the summer and they haven't the quarantine. So many children. And the expense. There's no question at all thought of the cost. First of all, the human cost and the psychological cost and everything else. But the physical cost to the pocket. They can't afford this to stay in hotels. They could quarantine at home just as well. So here we are now extending it again for another, I'm not sure of the date, but it's October. I think. I'm not certain. But I'm totally opposed to that because it's too late. Closing like, and if there's a sheep farm, I am. And if you let one sheep out the gap, they'll all go after them and make a bigger gap and you'll want a good sheep to bring them back. You need to get some kind of, you know, look, there's confusion this morning again about what's happening regarding the reopening of hospitality. Other confusion. And it's not fair to the public. There's plenty paid official civil servants and advisers by the dozen you have. And if you can't be in sync, you've got Minister Martin saying one thing, Tornish is saying another thing. It's really vying for the airwaves. And then, of course, we have never vying for the airwaves as well. So I'm opposed to this and I will be opposing it continuing because it's illogical. It's too little, too late. And it didn't, as I said, if it was done properly at first, we might be in a different place. Good, Margaret. Good, Margaret. Good, Margaret.
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