The government seeks a high level of restrictions until Easter

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Taoiseach Micheál Martin has said that the Government is seeking a continuation of a high level of restrictions for the Easter period.

He said that must be determined by the Government, which is reviewing the Living with Covid Plan, adding that the week beginning February 20 will bring clarity.

Easter Sunday falls on April 4 this year.

The Taoiseach said this week’s RTÉ Investigates program revealed the extraordinary pressures healthcare personnel face during the third wave of the pandemic and those pressures must be alleviated.

“We don’t want that situation to happen again in our hospitals,” he said.

Speaking on RTÉ’s Morning Ireland, the Taoiseach said schools and construction are the priority, and it makes sense to take a cautious and conservative approach to reopening society, particularly as the vaccination program is rolled out.

Martin said the gradual return to school means there won’t be a million people on the move at the same time.

He said that schools are safe places and controlled environments, but what worries is the broader movement.

Mr. Martin said Leaving Certificate students should know next week what the status is regarding exams.

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He said he has given the Department of Education time and space to figure this out, while acknowledging what Leaving Cert students are going through in terms of wasted time.

On international travel, Martin said that the arrival of a new variant has given additional impetus and importance to the issue of border controls, which are important to delay the entry of variants into the country and reduce their transmission.

He said that with the move towards a mandatory quarantine, countries will be added to the list and another 18 countries, including sub-Saharan Africa and the United Arab Emirates, will be considered regarding mandatory quarantine.

Mr. Martin said that people should not take non-essential international travel, which is a violation of Level 5 restrictions.

He added that Ireland has to think beyond the mandatory quarantine, since “otherwise, in the medium and long term we will end up as prisoners in our own country.”

When asked about the prohibition of GAA matches between counties, he said this will be looked at again.

Martin said the government wants to keep mobility low in the country.

He said the positivity rate among close contacts is 22% and the number of people in the hospital far exceeds 20% from last April’s peak.

These numbers need to be kept in context, he said, before we “slowly get out of the very tight restrictions we currently experience.”

Martin said he has not yet been invited to Washington for the annual St. Patrick’s Day shamrock ceremony at the White House, but discussions are ongoing.

He said that if invited he would go to the United States, but he is aware of the enormous challenges in the United States regarding the pandemic.

He said it is important that both administrations find the optimal way to commemorate St. Patrick’s Day this year.

Mr Martin said that Ireland has a very important relationship with the United States and hopes “in some way to honor and mark it” as the economic relationship is key.

He said there are other issues regarding undocumented Irish in the United States that he would like to raise with President Joe Biden, in addition to seeking to work with US Aid’s Samantha Power in relation to Irish Aid’s work in developing countries.

When asked about the proposed salary increase for the Secretary-General position in the Department of Health, Mr. Martin said it is part of a comprehensive approach to transform the health service and improve the long-term perception of the leadership role. from the Department.

Mr. Martin said that a reformed, better and well-invested health service should be the legacy of the pandemic and that he is determined to order the health service for the life of the Government.

He said the salary deal is part of a larger investment in healthcare as part of this long-term reform strategy.

Social Democrats criticize messages about restrictions

Co-leader of the Social Democrats, Catherine Murphy, has said that “it is not fair” to the public that a new six-week shutdown was “almost announced” through leaks of the parliamentary meetings of Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil last night.

Speaking during the Questions from the leaders in the Dáil, he said that such messages “should be handled differently” and asked Tánaiste Leo Varadkar to explain in concrete figures what the government’s plan Living with Covid actually means.

Mr. Varadkar said the Government was complying with the advice of the National Public Health Emergency Team (NPHET), which cautioned against basing the policy on “one or two metrics” because this was “too crude.”

He added that NPHET had said it would be “wrong” for the Cabinet to use a precise number, such as hospital admissions, ICU capacity or the seven-day average of positive results, when designing its strategy.

Rep. Murphy said the RTÉ Investigates program at Tallaght Hospital was a reminder of the “physical and emotional cost to our front-line workers” of ongoing lockdowns, something she described as “unfair and unsustainable.”

He called for an intense “test, trace and isolate” strategy to be combined with “aggressive suppression” of the virus and said the public needs to know “what the milestones are” when it comes to reopening the country.

Mr. Varadkar said that there had been a “very significant reduction” in Covid-19 cases, but that much more work was needed to suppress the virus.

He said that “it doesn’t make much sense to reopen things that you have to close in three weeks.”

Additional reports Paul Cunningham



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