WATCH: Peadar Toibín TD has confronted Tánaiste Leo Varadkar in the Dáil, saying that Irish children as young as 12 have been denied access to sports and school trips because they lacked the vaccine passport.
The remarks were made this evening in the Dáil during a debate on promised legislation.
NOW: "It's wrong, it's cruel, and it's useless."
Leader of Aontú, Peadar Toibín TD, confronts Tánaiste Leo Varadkar over claims that children under 12 are being denied access to sports unless they produce a vaccine passport.#gript #nphet #taoiseach #vaccinepassport pic.twitter.com/i4MZrN3yFY
— gript (@griptmedia) November 2, 2021
“A father told me today that his 12, 14 and 16-year-old children have been banned from playing basketball because they have no vaccine pass,” said Toibín.
“A volleyball coach in Mayo was told not to accept girls between the ages of 12 and 17 if they have no vaccine pass. Another kickboxing coach, again, told not to accept children for the same reasons. A young girl was stopped from going on a school tour because she has no vaccine pass.”
Toibín went on to assert that this policy made “no sense,” as vaccinated people are also able to transmit the virus.
“First of all, discrimination is wrong,” he said.
“Second of all, this makes no sense. Transmission is happening between people who are vaccinated. If you want to stop transmission, antigen tests are the way to do it, and it doesn’t have the effect of discriminating.
“Children have suffered so much with regards to Covid. They’ve had their education hammered. They’ve had their social development radically arrested over the last year.
“It’s incredible that they’re now facing being “othered”, being segregated, and being banned from doing things that are good for their health and good for their mental health. It’s wrong, it’s cruel, and it’s useless.”
Before Toibín’s remarks, Fianna Fáil TD Willie O’Dea mentioned that children under-12 were affected by this policy.
https://twitter.com/Ben_Scallan/status/1455570807531479044
Varadkar responded by saying that while the vaccines didn’t eliminate transmission, they did “reduce it,” which is why it was “in anyone’s interest to get vaccinated.”
At least as recently as a week ago Ireland was experiencing the highest numbers in hospital with Covid since March despite over 91% of the adult population being fully-vaccinated.
HIGHEST COVID NUMBERS IN HOSPITAL SINCE MARCH DESPITE 91%+ JABBEDhttps://t.co/irKLDA3FNA
— Robert W Malone, MD (@RWMaloneMD) October 29, 2021