TDs Have Voted In Favour Of Extending Govt. Emergency Covid Power.

Thursday, 3 June 2021 10:00

The vote was tight: 73 to 68.

TDs last night voted in favour of extending the government's emergency Covid-19 powers until November.

The bill passed by only five votes - by 73 to 68.

Emergency Covid-19 powers extended until November after narrowly passing Dáil vote https://t.co/IxLrSCigR7
— TheJournal.ie (@thejournal_ie) June 3, 2021

It means widespread bans on travel and events could be imposed again over the next five months.

Independent TD Mattie McGrath opposed the extension - he's annoyed with how it passed last night.

As the emergency covid legislation looks set to be renewed without review, we are launching our wide-ranging report Human Rights in a Pandemic.

Hope you can join us at 10!https://t.co/MWs6UPhgep
— Irish Council for Civil Liberties 🏳️‍🌈 (@ICCLtweet) June 3, 2021

The renewal of the emergency powers sets a "dangerous precedent" for the future, according to the Irish Council of Civil Liberties.

Executive Director of the ICCL Liam Herrick says the move could bring problems during future emergencies

More from National News

Survivors’ Stories And Counselling Gave Kildare Woman Maeve Leahy Strength To Speak Out About Abuse

Audio

Thomas Howard, the 79-year-old former GAA referee from Old Kilcullen, was sentenced to six years and nine months in prison at Tullamore Circuit Court.
€34.5m Boost Backs Quest To Study Memory Loss And Build 3-D Biodegradable Spinal Supports

Other funded work includes discovering new yeast species in Irish ecosystems, and studying how early-life memories are lost and how this process differs in autism and between sexes, to potentially "reverse" memory loss.
13 New Gardaí For Kildare - But No Increase For Part-Time Maynooth Station

Audio

Maynooth, which is similar in size to Leixlip, still operates only a part-time Garda station and no new Gardai have been allocated to the station under the latest deployment.
Kildare’s Rain Warning Brought Forward To 9am As Remnants Of Storm Claudia Approach Ireland

A Status Orange alert for heavy rain in Dublin, Wexford and Wicklow will be in effect from 12 noon today until 8am tomorrow.
Christmas Gift Caution As E-Scooters Leading Cause Of Child Brain Injuries

Parents are being advised not to buy them for children.
€540k Worth Of Ketamine Seized In Major Kildare Raid

A man in his 20s was arrested.
Former GAA Referee Thomas Howard From Old Kilcullen Jailed For Indecently Assaulting His Niece

He previously appeared before Judge Sinéad McMullen at Tullamore Circuit Court, where the court heard details of the abuse of his niece, Maeve Leahy, during the mid-1980s and 1990s.
Mother Of Late Harvey Morrison Focused On Change For Children With Spina Bifida And Scoliosis

Audio

It's after the government agreed to set up a statutory public inquiry into the care of those children.