SENATOR: DONNELLY HAS ‘HUGE BURDEN’ WITH BILL

HEALTH Minister Stephen Donnelly should not have to deal with the ‘huge burden’ of mandatory quarantining, according to one of his party colleagues.

Fianna Fáil Senator Lisa Chambers became the first Coalition politician to question the workload of Mr Donnelly, who told local media recently he works 100 hours per week.

Speaking in the Seanad yesterday, the party colleague asked why Mr Donnelly was being tasked with this ‘huge burden’ when it ‘should be a Justice bill’.

Ms Chambers said: ‘I have previously questioned why this was under the Department of Health. It looks, walks and talks like a Justice bill. It should have come in under the Department of Justice. We are talking about detention, criminality and criminal offences. It sounds as though it should be a Justice bill.’

Ms Chambers added: ‘There is a limit to what one person can deal with on an ongoing basis. It seems a huge additional workload on top of being the Minister for Health, Covid-19, vaccines and everything in between.

‘To put quarantining on top of that workload is a huge burden, not just on the Minister but on the team and the Department.’

Ms Chambers said that Mr Donnelly was entitled to ‘get some sleep and have a day off ’.

While a number of opposition politicians have said they feel Mr Donnelly’s workload is excessive and should not extend to mandatory hotel quarantine, this is the first time a Government politician has echoed these comments.

However, Fine Gael Senator Seán Kyne was quick to deflect the huge task away from his party colleague and Justice Minister Helen McEntee by snapping that ‘at the end of the day, it is a health Bill protecting the health of the nation. That is the rationale behind it.’