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Health Minister Stephen Donnelly said he discussed the possibility of moving the restrictions to level 4 with Medical Director Dr. Tony Holohan on Sunday before the Nphet (National Public Health Emergency Team) meeting.
He said in a specially convened debate in the Dáil that the first time he heard mention of Level 5 restrictions was on Sunday night after the Nphet meeting.
In the ongoing row on last weekend’s event timeline on the Level 5 recommendation leak, Donnelly told Dáil:
“I received a text message around lunchtime on Saturday from the medical director to tell me that he had called a Nphet meeting for the following day. I texted the Taoiseach to let him know. “
He texted Dr. Holohan early Sunday morning and they spoke on the phone.
“We discussed the current situation and the possibility of moving to level 4. I conveyed my belief that it was important for Nphet to adhere to the parameters set out in the framework for each level. I contacted the Taoiseach afterward. “
“At around 7 pm I participated in a video call with the chief physician, the deputy chief physician, and the secretary general” of the Department of Health.
“It was then that they informed me of the recommendation to go to level 5.
“I updated the Taoiseach after this call. A cabinet Covid committee was convened for noon the following day and the cabinet also met late on Monday. “
Sinn Féin Health Spokesperson David Cullinane asked why the Minister did not “back off” when the CMO said he was so concerned that he might recommend moving to Level 4.
“The Taoiseach and the Tánaiste said they were caught in the jump and that was obviously false.”
Donnelly said: “Did I try to influence the recommendations? Of course I didn’t. I would never have done such a thing. Nphet’s job is to provide the best possible public health advice to the government. “
‘The Agatha Christie Mystery’
Labor TD Duncan Smith said “we are participating in a kind of Agatha Christie mystery of who said what and when.”
He said they had to discuss what happened last weekend because it had huge implications for people’s trust “in you, in Nphet, in the Taoiseach and in the Tánaiste, who played a particularly dirty role in this sad and petty affair.” .
He asked why Donnelly only called Dr. Holohan until Sunday morning. “This was Tony Holohan returning two days earlier in a tightening of this pandemic. He has more trust from the public than any of us in this chamber, present or absent together. “
He also asked when the minister saw the letter “because it was the leak of that letter that caused absolute panic.”
The minister said that on Sunday the CMO “had more information than it had on Saturday because at lunchtime on Saturday the numbers for the day would not have been available.”
Pressured by the leak of Nphet’s letter of recommendation, Mr. Donnelly said: “I know that RTÉ reported Level 5 on the news at 9 o’clock.
“I don’t think they have gone into details about what is in the letter, so I don’t know if RTÉ had the letter. They might just be told it was Level 5. “
When the Social Democrat TD Róisín Shortall asked him if he could assure that he or one of his associates did not leak the letter, the minister said that “neither I nor anyone who works for me leaked the letter.”
The Minister concluded the debate by saying that “this is going to be a harsh winter for the people we represent in so many different ways.”
He said that “we have to help each other and support each other and we have to roll back this terrible virus of God and open up our country and our society and our economy and our communities as much as possible.”
Indications
Previously in the Dáil, Tánaiste Leo Varadkar has said that no one in the government had any indication that Level 5 restrictions were being considered until Sunday.
Speaking of the controversy over the announcement that the highest level of restriction was recommended, Varadkar said it was a shock and that it was unexpected.
On Monday, Mr. Varadkar criticized Dr. Holohan and Nphet (National Public Emergency Team) saying that the recommendation to move to Level 5 had not been “thought through” and that there had been no “prior consultation” with the Government.
However, Dr. Holohan confirmed late Wednesday that he had spoken with Health Minister Stephen Donnelly on Sunday morning prior to the meeting and had shared his concerns and those of the team members.
Co-leader of the Social Democrats, Rosin Shortall, previously asked Mr. Varadkar to apologize to Dr. Holohan, saying he was being “very irresponsible” and “playing a dangerous political game.”
He also asked Taoiseach Micheál Martin to “pick up the phone and call the other party leaders” so that there can be a response from all parties to Covid-19.
Speaking on RTÉ radio’s Morning Ireland, Ms. Shortall said that Mr. Martin needed to “bring people with him at the political level”, that all political parties should “be on the same page” to take action to “end the virus”.
Speaking in the Dáil on Thursday, Varadkar told Sinn Féin finance spokesman Pearse Doherty that the party’s three government leaders were informed on Saturday that Nphet will meet on Saturday.
“There was no suggestion, not even a hint of level 5 restrictions” at the time, he said.
If they had known they would have sought a briefing on Saturday night, he insisted.
“A decision of such gravity is one that has to be analyzed and commented on.”
Mr. Varadkar said he rejected Mr. Doherty’s claim that he had “played man, not ball” at RTE.
The Tanaiste said in relation to the Medical Director that “I did not say a bad word about him” in the face of some mockery from the opposition. “He is someone I respect immensely.”
“Covid is no one’s fault and no one in government is trying to get involved in any kind of blame game. That’s for others. “
Sinn Féin leader Mary Lou McDonald previously said that “an artificial dispute” between Nphet and the government was not necessary at this time.
A political “who did it” was not a priority, but absolute clarity was needed on the timeline of when the government was first alerted to the possibility of a move to Level 5.
During questions from leaders in the Dáil, Mr. Doherty stated that “instead of establishing a plan to deal with the situation in our hospitals, the Government has allowed the narrative to prevail, which is everyone’s fault except its own ”.
The Donegal TD said they now knew that it was not the case that Nphet’s advice was a surprise and that everything the CMO could have done “he did to keep the government in the loop.”
Reasons
He said that Mr. Varadkar had gone “to the national station and took the legs of our medical director”.
He said the CMO “called” him that the reason they were considering Level 5 restrictions is because of a lack of capacity in the health service.
Mr. Doherty said that “the real reason he made his statement is because NPHET called him. The reason we are even contemplating these strict restrictions is the lack of capacity in our healthcare system. He has been minister of health and taoiseach and has been in government for the past nine years. It has left the State extremely vulnerable with respect to our number of ICU beds. “
But Mr. Varadkar said the number of ICU patients with the virus is around 25. “We have the capacity to go to 360 beds with emergency capacity, and there is also the option of using private hospitals.”
He told Mr. Doherty: “I know what you are trying to do, that is, play the blame game. He’s trying to set it up so that if the country has to go back to a severe lockdown, it can blame the government and say that it is all down to the capacity of the hospital. “
The Tánaiste said of the CMO “I did not say a bad word about him” before some mockery of the opposition. “He is someone I respect immensely, someone with whom I have worked very closely on very difficult issues.”
Mr. Varadkar said he spoke with the CMO by phone on Tuesday and “we cleared things up. Neither of them has any problem with the other. “
He said that “no one in the government had any indication that a Level 5 restriction was being considered until Sunday and that was confirmed by the CMO at last night’s press conference.”
First hint
He said the Level 5 recommendation came just three days after Nphet said he did not strongly support a move to Level 3.
“I was informed on Saturday, as did the Taoiseach and the leader of the Green Party, that a meeting of Nphet had been called for Sunday.”
He said the first hint he got on Sunday that Level 5 was being considered was after the Nphet meeting, he received the written confirmation at 8:30 p.m.
TD Catherine Murphy, a Social Democrat, asked the Tánaiste:
In hindsight, given the increasing numbers, do you regret the interview with Claire Byrne? Do you accept that you have been a distraction in the fight against the virus? Do you accept that the main focus this week has been repairing your stool? In fact, you just said that you received a phone call to clear things up. And when we should really focus on uniting our collective efforts to combat this virus. “
Mr Varadkar agreed that the events of Sunday and Monday “are all a distraction from what we now have to do, which is to fight the virus together”.
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