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Their approach to business may have been different, but this week there was no question that Taoiseach and Tánaiste were furious over Sunday night’s leak of the recommendation of the National Public Health Emergencies Team (Nphet) to escalate the restrictions of Covid-19 at full lockdown level 5.
This shock event sparked consternation across the country, further increasing already widespread anxiety levels. It also left the government with its feet on the ground and struggling to respond in the hectic hours that followed.
Taoiseach Green Tea Micheál Martin was deeply disappointed in Nphet, but determined to move forward in a renewed spirit of working together for the good of the nation.
Black coffee Tánaiste Leo Varadkar was mad as hell with Nphet and made sure to say the same before deciding to move on with a renewed spirit of working together for the good of the nation.
A government source was succinct in his summary of what happened since Friday “when they told us that level 3 was not justified because the epidemiological evidence was not there” until Saturday “the day they said that, without mentioning any level. 4 or 5 but only Nphet meeting because the numbers went up a lot ”to Sunday with“ rumors in the afternoon of Level 4 ”and then“ the Big Bang in the letter, Level 5, leaked ”.
The government, in a risky but decisive display of authority, decided not to follow Nphet’s advice for now.
The Taoiseach calmly addressed the nation. “This is not about public health and business competing with each other, it is about protecting lives and livelihoods. We can’t do one without the other. “
In what seemed like a classic good cop / bad cop routine, the Tánaiste appeared on RTÉ’s Claire Byrne show. His appearance surprised some colleagues from the Government, who had assumed that his absence from a simultaneous press conference with the Minister of Health was due to the fact that he was on the last day of his restricted movement regime.
Later, Leo appeared on television where he criticized State Medical Director Tony Holohan and the public health team for trying to bounce the Coalition back on measures that were “not well thought out.” It should have been the most amazing part of the show.
But then former Fine Gael researcher and pharmacist Kate O’Connell appeared in a hallway behind the study brandishing a hypodermic syringe and looking like a refugee from Little House on the Prairie in an old-fashioned slouchy lamb-sleeved dress and a white apron on top.
She proceeded to administer the flu shot through the open car window to host Byrne, who had just arrived on set out of nowhere before continuing with his chilling collection of syringes to inject “Bob and Renee,” two members. of the Fair City cast looking puzzled. , sitting on a sofa in an imaginary living room.
For a country that lives on nerves, it was amazing. Thank goodness the licenses are still open. At home, we were hysterically building the merlot and still trying to figure out what the hell had just happened when a cheerful Varadkar came out of the television building, with his work done.
In accordance with protocol, Jon Williams, managing director of RTÉ News, escorted the Tánaiste through the lobby to the front door. And Leo, according to viewers, turned to Williams: “Did I go a little too far?”
Cap’n Grealish
An unusual outing for golfer Noel Grealish in the Dáil on Wednesday for a debate on the impact of Covid-19 on the arts sector. Spoiler alert: it has been catastrophic.
“It’s been a terrible year for people involved in the arts and the creative economy in general, with no end in sight for the suffering,” said TD Grealish, a freelancer from Galway West, whose main claim to fame these days is as Captain of the golf society previously. known as Oireachtas.
His other claim to fame is as the last leader of the Progressive Democrats before he disbanded. And also that disgust last year when political leaders roundly condemned the comments he made about African asylum seekers.
“It should have been an amazing year in Galway in particular, showcasing the best of what the region has to offer, not only in culture and art, but also in tourism offerings,” Catherine Martin told Minister of Culture, Art and Tourism. , omitting Sport, which is also part of its extensive portfolio.
Although golf outings to scenic courses would be covered by tourism. In fact, there is still no end in sight to the suffering of one of Grealish’s golfgate partners, Judge Séamus Woulfe.
“Of course, many events associated with Galway 2020 have happened, but in a very different way than I had imagined (sic),” sighed Noel, evoking visions of high-level resignations, low-level demotions and uproar on Liveline.
Witness your captain’s award day event at Ballyconneely Golf Links and the Station Hotel in Clifden, both true jewels in the west of Ireland’s sports and tourism crown.
The event went ahead, but not as “visualized”. Sadly, the organizers were forced to place a partition across the function room to divide the roughly 80 golfers and guests into two groups together, but separately for their pandemic dinner and awards ceremony.
Although they slid the partition for the duration of the speeches, obviously. Some distinguished diners, with their backs to the wall, did not notice the enormous space this created and thus remained oblivious to all the people from the same golf outing who had been dining a few feet on the other side.
Easy to do, especially since this second group was led to their tables through an elaborate series of secret underground tunnels and hatches that are not connected to the normal entrance. Furthermore, they were supernaturally quiet eaters and drinkers who were too shy to clap or laugh or even speak, it didn’t matter getting up from their seats and walking into the spotlight to receive a treat.
Surprisingly, in his Dáil recap of the major events in Galway this year that were not as “imagined”, MP Grealish forgot to mention golf.
End of the matter?
And the Shamefully Butter ‘Em Up Award for 2020 goes to the University of Dublin Law Society with their decision to nominate Simon Harris for their prestigious Trinity Praeses Elit award.
That would be Simon Harris, the new minister in charge of the universities.
“The Elit de Praeses Award is given to those who have made an indelible impact in their chosen field and who have advanced discourse and social thinking in the process.” Ah, here.
Harris won’t be able to stick his head out the door with all the favorable attention he’s getting these days.
On Wednesday, he caught up with Tony Holohan walking through Merrion Square. The medical director and the former health minister had worked together during the difficult early days of the pandemic. Passersby stopped to photograph them.
“They looked a bit embarrassed, like they had been caught having a clandestine affair,” said one witness.
The Praeses Elit Award was founded by Mary Robinson and previous winners include Bob Geldof, actress Sarah Rafferty, data privacy activist Max Schrems, director Lenny Abrahamson, broadcaster Larry King, Baroness Hale, Cherie Blair, Chris Hadfield and Samantha Power.
The society wants to give the gong to Harris “not only for his admirable work as Minister of Health, exemplified by his leadership during the coronavirus pandemic” (which will completely drive Stephen Donnelly crazy) “but for his current position as Minister and higher education .
“The Trinity Law Society and the Access to Law Program believe that the potential for improvement in this area is enormous and that no person is more equipped than you to create an educational system that is accessible to all.”
Harris told a Dáil committee during the week that Ireland should “abandon the snobbish attitude” towards people who do not attend college, leading to the narrow belief “that everyone should be channeled straight out of high school. to the University”. It’s not on and it’s not right. “
He was struck by a recent article in The Irish Times by Trinity Chancellor Patrick Prendergast, who wrote that college is not the only end for students.
“We are obsessed with college degrees in this country. However, college is not for everyone; This is not an elitist view, but stems from the belief that students should consider all options on their merits.
“Convincing parents and students of this will be a task for Minister Simon Harris, whose new department, with its focus on higher and further education, as well as science and innovation, could still be a game changer for this country, ”he wrote.
Perhaps the two men can discuss the issue further next week when Harris collects his award at a ceremony that will be streamed live on Facebook.
Ginsburg recalled
The recent death of United States Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg prompted some veterans of the law library here to review the legendary RBG’s comments during his 1993 Senate confirmation hearing in Washington DC.
“Federal judges can outlast the president who appoints them. They can serve as long as they can get the job done. As the constitution says, they can remain in office during good behavior. ”The Supreme Court justices, above all, participate in shaping an enduring body of constitutional decisions.
“They are continually faced with issues where the editors left things unsaid, unresolved or uncertain. For that reason, when the Senate considers a Supreme Court nomination, Senators are duly concerned about the candidate’s ability to serve the nation, not just for the here and now, but for the long term. “
He added: “Regarding my own behavior or, in the words of the constitution, good behavior, I appreciate the advice received on this nomination from a dear friend, Frank Griffin, a recently retired Justice of the Supreme Court of Ireland.
Judge Griffin wrote: “Courtesy and consideration for colleagues, the legal profession and the public are among the greatest attributes a judge can have.”
Apparently, RBG met the late Frank Griffin when he was on a trip for the American Bar Association across the Atlantic. The two attorneys kept in touch; Frank was known as a great lyric writer.
A few years after her appointment, Bader-Ginsburg arrived in Ireland and Gerard Griffin, Frank’s son, who is now a Circuit Court judge, hosted a dinner for her at the Law Society.
Many years later, his words were read with great interest in the Four Courts as the briefs awaited news of the fate of our new Supreme Court judge.
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