Last night's news that the hospitality industry might need to close early again is devastating for many businesses around the country which have put in considerable effort to reopen and provide a service for their community, town or city during the Christmas period. These businesses have bought stock on the assumption they would be open until early in the new year. Even though people tried not to talk about it, there was always a feeling that they might need to close in January, but no one foresaw that it could happen between Christmas and the new year.

In different areas of the country the hospitality industry has faced this situation of having to close down and reopen three, four or five times. Every time it has asked for clarity as quickly as possible, which I know is a challenge. Almost every time the decisions made for the hospitality industry in particular have been in line with the NPHET recommendations. If we go with the recommendations NPHET gave last night, I urge especially at this time of year that we give those guidelines to the hospitality industry as quickly as possible. As others have said, those in the sector have done a considerable amount in recent weeks to reopen their premises, taking the risk of them and their employees contracting the virus. I ask that they be given as much clarity as possible. It is an extremely difficult time for them. Obviously, we worry about the people who want to go out and socialise during Christmas, but the most important thing is to give clarity to the people working there.

I thank you, a Chathaoirligh, Martin Groves, Bridget Doody and everyone in Leinster House for the phenomenal work they have done in the past six or nine months that I have had the privilege to be a Senator.

I am very new and I want to wish all of my colleagues well over the Christmas period. It has been a pleasure working with everyone and learning from seasoned as well as new politicians. Everyone has performed extremely well and it has been a pleasure to be here.

I echo the comments of Senator Ahearn and wish everyone a very healthy and happy Christmas. I thank everyone for their work. Staff from across the House have been good to me and to all elected representatives and I thank them for the courtesy they have shown to us since we were elected. I wish them well and hope they have a happy Christmas.

I wish to raise a number of issues this morning, the first of which is the upcoming announcement relating to the urban regeneration and development fund, URDF, which is expected early in the new year. One of the towns in my constituency, Athlone, has submitted an application and I ask that it be given favourable consideration. The application is for funding to redevelop a strategic but derelict site beside the shopping centre in the town to improve facilities as well as to augment the successful shop front enhancement scheme. That scheme was introduced by Westmeath County Council a number of years ago and has been fantastic for every single town in that county. It has been introduced in Longford too and has been very successful. It enables businesses to upgrade the front of their premises.

On sport, I was speaking to representatives of my local Longford Rugby Club recently who are seeking clarification from the Minister regarding the guidelines on what sports can be played. Many local schools and the vast majority of club players have not played a game of rugby since 19 March. This is an extremely important issue. Participation in sport is difficult in these times but Longford Rugby Club has asked that school-age teams and clubs be allowed to play matches while adhering to all Covid-19 safety guidelines in level 3. That is a key request and it is only fair when both soccer and Gaelic games teams have been allowed to play at that level. I ask the Minister to consider this matter.

I wish everyone a happy Christmas. It is great that we have reached this stage of what has been an amazing year. Some of us have fought a general election and a Seanad election, we have endured a pandemic and have been locked up at home for long periods. It has been a year that none of us will ever forget. I wish to acknowledge the courtesy of the Cathaoirleach and thank the staff of Seanad Éireann for their kindness over the past six to eight unusual months. I also thank the Leader of the House and the Members who have helped me over the past few months.

The news that emerged last night in terms of the uncertainty regarding the catering trade is worrying. I realise that we are very close to Christmas but, as many speakers have said, clarity vis-à-vis supply chains and so on is very important for traders and society at large. I hope the Cabinet will convene sooner rather than later and make a decision on this because the longer the uncertainty persists, the more difficult the situation becomes. Clarity is needed.

I compliment the Leader on her statement earlier this week on the anti-vaccination campaign. Public representatives should not proffer medical advice on who should or should not be vaccinated. Some public representatives are using their platform to speak on behalf of the anti-vaccination campaign, which is not appropriate. We have medical experts in this country who have the ability to dispense medical advice. They should lead the vaccination campaign and public representatives should not comment on matters as if they are experts. It is unfortunate that some are doing this for nothing other than political gain. People's lives will be lost because of the anti-vaccination campaign being conducted by certain public representatives. They are just doing it for their own benefit and it sickens me. We need to stand strong, particularly given the good news around the roll-out of the vaccine. Hopefully by the time this House sits again, the vaccination programme will be up and running and people will be getting the vaccine. That is really positive news and something that we must continue to talk about. I am no medical expert but I listen to the medical advice on the ground. Every single expert I have spoken to has said that we should back the vaccination programme. I ask the Leader to organise a debate on this matter after Christmas. We need to call out the people who are saying that they will not get vaccinated because that cannot continue. If it does continue, lives will be lost and that is something that nobody in this House can stand over.

It is funny that we are talking about reflections and so forth. This day last year was my last day in Leinster House as a member of staff, after seven years. I finished to focus on the general election that I hoped would be called in the summer but it was called about two weeks later. If it had not been called, we would have gone straight into Covid-19 and many of us would not be sitting here. None of the new Senators would be here because the previous Government would still be in place. It is funny how things work out.

I wish to compliment my colleagues on the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Climate Action and the chairperson, Deputy Brian Leddin. This morning, the committee published its pre-legislative scrutiny report on the Climate Action Bill, which is landmark legislation. It is so important that we are putting it through in the first 100 days of this Government. We have started that process strongly and I hope that this report will inform all Oireachtas Members about the legislation. It sets ambitious targets in terms of carbon budgets and strengthens oversight of climate policy by the Oireachtas. The Bill seeks to change the role and composition of the climate strategy advisory committee and sets out strong national objectives up to 2050. It is landmark legislation and I compliment all my colleagues on the committee and particularly my Seanad colleagues who have worked incredibly hard over the past ten weeks to get this report through. We have been meeting every day and have heard really important expert witness testimony which fed into report. This will undoubtedly benefit the legislation. The vast majority of the report was put together without votes. We only voted yesterday morning on certain issues where we could not reach agreement but the vast majority of it was put together through cross-party co-operation, give and take and trying to understand the needs of both Opposition and Government. That type of collegial politics is lacking in these Houses sometimes. We could do with a lot more of it but it was certainly evident in how the committee worked over the past ten weeks.

I was listening in my office when Senators Crowe and Casey spoke. My heart sank when I heard what they had to say about the hospitality industry and what it has suffered because they are so right. The news last night was yet another blow to the sector and I agree with what others have said on the need for clarity. Clarity is important and I hope it will come in the next day or two.

Senator Lombard spoke about the Covid-19 vaccine and those who are anti-vaccination. This is so serious. It is such a critical issue and, as public representatives, we must show leadership when it comes to articulating the benefits of the vaccine. It will not be compulsory but I hope that more than 90% of those who are able to take the vaccine will do so. Yesterday I wished everyone a happy Christmas and I reiterate that today. I also want to wish a lady who works on the fourth floor well. Lydia is finishing up today and is moving on to bigger and brighter things. I wish her the very best. I hope everybody has a safe and enjoyable Christmas.

I will begin by wishing the Cathaoirleach a happy Christmas. I thank him for his guidance during the year. I also extend Christmas wishes and thanks to Mr. Martin Groves, Ms Bridget Doody and all the Seanad staff as well as to the Leader, whose constructive approach thus far must be acknowledged.

I was struck by the comments of Senators Casey and Crowe and my heart genuinely goes out to them. I cannot imagine how hard it is for the hospitality sector at the moment.

I appeal to the Government to review this constantly and determine what more it can do for the hospitality sector at present. That said, I believe there is probably no alternative but to go back into some kind of lockdown. Considering the figures and what is happening across Europe, health has to come first. That, however, does not make anything any easier for all the businesspeople who have struggled throughout this period so far.

I was really pleased that Senator Casey mentioned the staff in the Oireachtas, particularly the cleaning staff and other contractors. I feel passionate about the idea that this Oireachtas should be a living-wage site. It can be done. My union, SIPTU, has pioneered the concept. It means that every worker, regardless of whether they are employed directly by the Houses of the Oireachtas or here as contractors, gets a living wage. There are a number of sites in Ireland that have already established this practice. It would make a substantial difference to the people who do an amazing job in these buildings and who are paid very low sums of money. It would make a substantial difference to them. It would not be a huge drain on the Exchequer. It would be very small. When we come to work next year, would it not be wonderful if we knew the workers were getting at least a living wage and could earn a living? I appeal to Members on a cross-party basis in this regard. I have written to the Houses of the Oireachtas Commission and asked the Chair to consider my proposal actively so we can make a real difference for people. It is not enough just to give applause to the essential front-line workers. Maybe we could consider my proposal for next year. I wish everyone well and a happy Christmas.