Bill seeks to extend emergency Covid powers to at least March

A Covid-19 information sign in Bandon High St. File Picture

Extended emergency powers around Covid-19 are set to be in place until March, with one three-month extension possible.

A briefing note on the legislation, which will pull together the four pieces of emergency legislation into one bill, to be passed by the Oireachtas by December 16, says the measures are needed because "Covid-19 still represents a public health emergency and continues to pose significant challenges".

It says that while the economy has reopened, the more transmissible Delta variant means that vaccination alone was unlikely to end the pandemic. The introduction of further restrictions has also not been ruled out.

The briefing note, seen by the Irish Examiner, says the legal basis for Covid certs in hospitality, as well as face coverings, the passenger locator form, and penalties for breaches of the law, will be extended to at least March.

It goes on to say that no guarantee can be made that more restrictions will not be needed over the winter.

This bill is a recognition of the fact that while we might not need the full suite of public health measures that have been in use over the past 18 months again, there may be a continued need over the winter months for some level of population-wide measures, for example, face coverings in certain settings," the briefing note says.

"While it is the stated intention of Government that more restrictive measures wouldn’t be reintroduced, experience has shown that we cannot predict with any certainty what the trajectory of the disease will be. 

"It is therefore prudent to ensure that we maintain the full range of legislative powers to ensure our overall response to Covid-19 continues to be agile and flexible, with an ability to pivot rapidly and respond to any emerging threat."

It is understood that health minister Stephen Donnelly has asked for pre-legislative scrutiny on the extension bill to be waived by the Oireachtas health committee. 

However, that committee's chairman, Fine Gael TD Colm Burke, said that it was preferable that the bill be discussed in full. It is understood that the bill may need to be passed in an emergency manner anyway, due to the tight timeframe.

Sinn Féin's David Cullinane said his party would be seeking a full debate on the bill.

“We support public health measures, but there has to be proper accountability and scrutiny," he said.