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Higher Education Minister Simon Harris has said that there will always be people “doing stupid things” in reference to drunken scenes on the streets of Killarney at the weekend.
Video images on social media showed a group of people singing and drinking in the street without observing social distancing or wearing masks. Two men also climbed into an old phone booth and began singing, the video shows.
Society should not lose sight of the fact that most people are doing everything that has been asked of them, Harris told the Today with Claire Byrne program on RTÉ radio.
He said it was not a generation, the youth, who were the problem. “There were no students at Clifden.”
Most of the students are responsible and concerned about the health of their parents and grandparents, he said.
“College life is going to be difficult. We have to recognize that the virus will be with us for some time.
Minister of Higher Education Simon Harris. Photograph: Niall Carson / PA Wire
There will be strict rules when students return to college, but they will vary from institution to institution. The priority will be freshmen, Harris said.
Harris said the past week had been a terrible week. He had made his feelings known on social media with comments about “stupid acts that make people angry.”
What had happened at Clifden was a violation of public trust. “We had worked so hard to bring people with us that everyone put their shoulders behind the wheel.”
What had happened at Clifden had created an “us versus them” attitude “that we just can’t have.” Harris acknowledged that the message had become more complex to communicate.
“All pubs should open”
Independent Kerry TD Michael Healy-Rae said the scenes of people drinking on the street in Killarney last Saturday night would not have occurred if all the pubs were open.
What happened Saturday night was not representative of what happened in Kerry, Healy-Rae told RTÉ radio’s Morning Ireland program.
“Killarney is an extremely well policed and managed city, we don’t have instances like this in any type of event, that is not a regular type of event,” he said.
Michael Healy-Rae said the weekend scenes weren’t typical of Killarney. File Photography: Cyril Byrne / The Irish Times
Healy-Rae said the incident on Saturday night did not occur inside a pub. “This was not within any public premises, because our innkeepers that are open run exceptionally efficient businesses, very well controlled, they are complying with all the guidelines and they are doing everything correctly.”
Under coronavirus restrictions, pubs that don’t serve food must remain closed to help suppress the spread of the virus. The government has delayed several proposed reopening dates on the advice of public health experts.
Healy-Rae said the scenes in Kerry over the weekend wouldn’t have happened if all the pubs were open.
That’s why I would use that scene in Killarney on Saturday night as an argument to persuade the government to allow all the bars to open. Because if our pubs are open, people will get alcohol in a measured and principled way, by responsible people who go to our courts every 12 months and who run what I call respectable pubs. “
He said he was “advocating that all pubs should be open, not just those that serve food.”
Mr. Healy-Rae acknowledged that his brother Danny runs a pub, but said that everyone in this country has a voice.
“I do not agree with the public health advice, no one can go into detail about what is the difference between a damp house and one that serves food. There are many anomalies. Of course I will adhere and follow the advice, but that does not mean that I have to blindly agree and say that they are 100% right in everything they say. That is not life. “
Don’t blame the young
HSE Executive Director Paul Reid said that while the street scenes in Killarney over the weekend were unfortunate, he did not want to see young people being blamed and attacked.
Redoubled efforts were needed to win their hearts and minds, he told Newstalk Breakfast.
“As we approach winter, we must communicate with people with hope and confidence,” Reid said.
There is no doubt that there has been an impact on services to date, but now they will have to be delivered in a new way, protecting the vulnerable and easing pressure on the hospital system, he said.
Agreements have been reached with private hospitals, he said, in case their facilities and services are needed in the event of a second increase. This will be done in a targeted way, it could be based on geography, and it will be “more agile,” he explained.
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