Mattie McGrath Demands Minister Present COVID Evidence
Mattie McGrath challenged the arrangements for ministerial attendance and demanded that the Minister present the evidence behind reopening decisions. He argued there is conflicting scientific and medical advice and insisted that deputies must be able to see the evidence directly.
Request for ministerial attendance
McGrath said he had discussed the matter at the Business Committee and objected to the suggestion that the Minister could not attend for the requested two hours, with a break. He urged that the Minister be present in the chamber to answer questions rather than be excluded by the timetable.
Call to see the evidence
He emphasised the need to see the scientific and medical evidence underpinning reopening decisions, saying "we need to see the evidence, and not hear it." McGrath noted conflicting advice and asked that evidence be presented in a way deputies can understand and appreciate.
Concerns about reopening and workers
McGrath pointed to workers on building sites and other reopened sectors, arguing more openings were needed while decisions must be justified by clear evidence. He contrasted expectations for workers with restrictions on access to evidence and ministerial scrutiny.
Frustration over minutes and procedural access
He referred to comments from the whip, Miss Doherty and Deputy Kelly, saying minutes and documents were difficult to obtain and describing the situation as "like pulling teeth." McGrath said he appreciated staff and frontline efforts but insisted the issue had gone on too long and required transparency.
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I've had a long discussion about this at the Business Committee, and so I'm not raising something here that we agreed at the Business Committee and we left it in, obviously we had to decide, but I'm totally not satisfied that we cannot have the Minister here tomorrow for the two, two hours, with a break of two hours or two hours and forty minutes break. I want to see, like everybody, there's conflicting evidence here of advices, of scientific advice and medical advice, and my understanding is, maybe I picked it up wrong at the meeting, from the whip, that Miss Doherty had no problem coming in, the Minister, but it was yourself, Taoiseach, and the Minister for Health, and allowing the two hours we had again last week with the Minister, I mean, we're expecting workers, up and down the country to work on building sites and everywhere else that we've opened, and thankfully we've opened, and we need to open more of them, and we'll just have a different rule friend here, we can't say that the whole, the size of this chamber, and the distancing, and I appreciate staff and their efforts and everybody else, and I appreciate what the front line are doing, and everybody, but this has gone on too long, and we need to see the evidence, and not hear it, we need to see it, that we can understand it, and that we can appreciate it, because there is conflicting evidence, and there are lots of conflicting evidence going forward, and about the evidence we're getting, and the rules we're getting, and like the Minister, Deputy Kelly smiling a minute ago, because he's looking for those minutes with months, and it's like pulling teeth, you can't get it into this, but you can't get these minutes either, which is very very strange, so I am objecting to. Thank you Deputy Deputy Deputy. Thank you.
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