I join Senator Ahearn and other Senators in calling for a debate prior to next week's Cabinet meeting on the reopening of the country. I ask the Leader to convene the House early for such a debate. There is a rising number of Covid cases and, to paraphrase, the virus is on a new trajectory.

It is important that all of us use appropriate language. Statistics do not lie. Dr. Anne O'Connor stated that the 10% of the adult population who are unvaccinated are driving 50% of admissions in hospitals. That is a stark figure on which we should all reflect. I appeal to all of Members, as leaders, to urge those who are unvaccinated to get vaccinated. I am a civil libertarian and appreciate the rights of individuals, but it is important that we have a measured debate on the lifting of our Covid restrictions on 22 October.

I believe we should go ahead with the reopening of the country but, like Senator Ahearn, we should keep the Covid app and certificate as part of what we are doing. I cannot comprehend the approach of NPHET and the Government regarding face masks. We either have them for retail and public transport or we do not have them at all.

We should have a measured reopening and a proper conversation about it. I appeal to members of the Cabinet to step away from the microphones between now and the Cabinet meeting next Tuesday and not add to the tension and hype. Let us give certainty to the hospitality sector which has been decimated. Let us all appeal to those who are unvaccinated to get vaccinated. It is a public health issue. I appreciate the rights of individuals not to get vaccinated, but the fact that 10% of the adult population is driving 50% of hospital admissions tells its own story.

Senator Buttimer said pretty much exactly what I was going to say, but I will say it a little bit differently. I want to build on the comments of Senators Ahearn and Buttimer. The figures do not lie. Professor Philip Nolan spoke on the radio this morning. Everybody is calling for certainty, but unfortunately if certainty was given today, it might be the wrong certainty. It might be the certainty people do not want to hear.

I agree with everything Senator Ahearn and, in particular, Senator Buttimer said.

I ask people who have not been vaccinated to please think about it again. I ask them to think about it not just for themselves but for their families, elderly relatives, brothers, sisters, children, neighbours and the people they interact with in supermarkets and shops, on public transport, in the workplace and anywhere else they may go.

It is so awful to hear of people who decided not to get the vaccine and, especially in America and Britain, the Covid-19 deniers who think that it will not happen to them. On YouTube, there are videos of such people saying that they wish they had got the vaccine. The vaccine is available and free. More than 7.2 million doses have been given to the Irish population and we know it works. I think I heard Dr. Colm Henry at the weekend saying that 67% of the people in intensive care units had not received a vaccine and 3% or more had only received one dose of vaccine. Most of the people in intensive care units have not been vaccinated, despite us having the highest vaccination rate in the EU and almost in the world. I give credit to all the people involved for that, as well as the Minister for Health, Deputy Donnelly, and the Government in general. All those healthcare workers have helped to do this.

If people have not been vaccinated, I ask them to think about it again. The risks from getting Covid-19 are far greater than the risks from being vaccinated. They are multiple times greater. I ask all the influencers and celebrities to advocate for this. They all have their own followers and they bring people with them. This is not necessarily about young or older people but it goes right across society. It is about 300,000 people in the qualifying population - children are not in that population. They have decided, for whatever reason, not to be vaccinated. That cohort comprises the vast bulk of people in intensive care units. Some of them will die, which is terrible for them, their friends, families and everyone they might leave behind. I urge people to think about it and to please get the vaccine. As the phrase goes, it is for all of us.