We need tougher laws to save lives, NOW, Taoiseach

THE country – indeed the whole world – is in the eye of a storm. In the space of a few short weeks, the Covid-19 pandemic has caused levels of national and international disruption unprecedented in our lifetimes. Interventions have been made to get ahead of this deadly virus and ‘flatten the curve’. But the truth is that we now need more urgent, decisive action.

The health authorities describe this pandemic as a race against time. That means every necessary measure that can be taken must be taken to save lives – now.

No praise is high enough or adequate to express our gratitude to every worker in our health system. As always, they rise to every challenge.

Others too in retail and elsewhere who provide essential services and who maintain ‘normality’, calm and safety are to be thanked.

Social distancing is the core strategy to slow down transmission and to save our stretched health service from being overwhelmed. People have heard that message and must act on it. Lives depend on it.

But the fight to slow coronavirus is compromised, fatally perhaps, by the fact that large gatherings – up to five hundred outdoors – are still allowed, and that countless workers are daily in workplaces where there is no real prospect of being able to practise social distancing.

They ask why it is that, in this race against time, the Government has not yet introduced full measures to protect them, to give full effect to social distancing? They worry that they are bringing this virus home.

It’s not credible or fair to criticise young people for failing in their civic duty to stay apart while the system itself sends out mixed messages.

This crisis demands that the Government moves now to scale up emergency measures and restrictions. Quickly.

Other countries have learned, to their cost, that delay costs lives. We don’t want to learn that lesson here.

Almost overnight tens of thousands of workers have lost their jobs, and many more will follow.

The sobering image of lengthy dole queues really brings home the scale of economic upheaval.

Lives have been turned upside down. For these workers and their families, the fear of the virus is now matched by the fear of bills that cannot be paid, rents that cannot be paid and mortgages that might go into default.

The political system has to respond. Half-measures just won’t cut it.

A moratorium on evictions, a cut in rents and a rent freeze, a freeze on mortgages, no disconnection of utilities and telephone services –these are the measures required to ensure that no one loses the roof over their head or is left cold and cut off in their home.

We need an immediate bailout for workers and families. Sinn Féin wants income support for workers who lose their jobs due to Covid-19. Our plan means every worker, including the selfemployed, will have income up to €32,500 secured and employers can top up income beyond that if they can. All workers will be paid up to €525 per week for 20 weeks via their employer.

Everything that we do at this time – socially, economically and politically – must have as its sole priority the health and well-being of the people.

This is a time for us all to pull together. On the other side of this crisis, there will be a pressing need to manage all of this, to rebuild the economy and rebuild people’s lives.

That must be done in a way that is equitable and fair to all, with a priority on assisting those that will be worst affected by the economic consequences of this pandemic.

The people of this State bailed out the country’s banks a decade ago. The legacy of that crisis prevails.

It was the resilience of ordinary workers that got our economy back on its feet. So now, in the eye of this new storm, this State must deliver for its people as guardian of the common good.

That must be our focus in the months ahead – to not just face down this virus, but to face up to the consequences of this crisis by safeguarding workers, families and communities.

Let’s do this together.

‘People fear they are bringing virus home’