He tried to deflect blame onto the opposition for wanting MHQ.
Then a few mins said it was actually the viruses fault.
This is untrue, Ireland had the most restrictive aviation policy in Europe last year. It made no difference in September as cases in Ireland rose at the same pace as they did elsewhere in Europe.
We were then the only country in the EU to put fellow EU countries and the US on a MHQ list. Not even the U.K. did that, supposedly the country detaching itself from Europe and sanity. The Government have ignored the aviation restart plan. We have had Varadkar bare faced lying on what the EU Digital Green Cert entails with the Government trying to delay it.
The cabinet just renewed pandemic powers, including MHQ, until November. The Government didnât have the time to discuss the aviation restart plan at cabinet but had the time to do this. Nobody is going to invest money or time into Irish aviation when you have a Government not only avoiding the issue, but making things worse.
A question Iâd have if I were in opposition (we donât have one unfortunately) is what ISIF knew about this. ISIF just invested in Aer Lingus, they will have all the financial forecasts at their fingertips.
We kept ânon essentialâ retail closed. You had to go to get an appointment rather than walk in.
How much did that cost the exchequer in extra PUP?
How much is it costing in extra PUP is it costing to have people sitting on the canals eating and drinking rather than in beer gardens?
Could that money have been spent on extra funding via ISIF to sustain operations in Shannon?
What was the public health gain from telling people they could only book an appointment for Penneyâs and not queue up and go in? Did Nolan model it having a savage impact on the mobility index and the R number?
There seems to be a puritanical aspect to our restrictions. âYou can go to the pub but only for a bitâ âyou can drink but only out in the cold and without access to the jacksâ âyou have to be finished by 11pmâ etc.
The restrictions on outdoor dining are from the same mindset as ridiculing antigen tests. The general public, who manage to hold down jobs that allow taxes be collected that pay these medics wages, cannot be trusted to do simple things.
At least they managed to find the money for 80 odd new public health doctors. That should put us in good stead for the next pandemic that hits. They can spend their time lecturing us about drink while they wait.
The lads who said that masks were a cod and travel bans didnât stop the virus and then said masks and travel bans were the only way to stop the virus.
Hospitals here are always understaffed, thereâs specialist units lying idle due to it. Trolley crisis year after year. But yeah we need 80 more Tony Holohans. You truly are a simpleton. But you keep doing you.
Iâm quite frustrated with Irelandâs approach to restrictions but this is a fairly stupid post. Do you know what public health doctors do? Do you think itâs a good thing that we have way less of them per capita than the UK or comparable EU countries?
