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Two weeks after his alarming increase in sanctity and self-importance related to Covid-19, a very moderate cohort of confirmed government cases returned to the Dáil chamber on Thursday afternoon with a considerably softened cough.
The chilling outbreak saw government ministers and backbenchers completely lose control of themselves during a special session to discuss the coronavirus crisis, refusing to get involved and launching wheezing attacks on the Opposition for daring to drag their exalted characters into the parliament at the time of the national emergency, so some important and legitimate questions could be asked.
The only reminder of that dark day was the challenging bottle of Josepha Madigan’s hand sanitizer that was placed on the ledge in front of her and a brief reference from Richard Boyd-Barrett of People Before Pandemic, who bravely refrained from singing.
“I appreciate the fact that the Government has accepted the need to answer questions despite some, I thought, rather false condemnations from those of us who thought it was important for this Dáil to sit down and for Ministers to be subject to questions last time. who were here. “
This time, the Taoiseach led an impressive turn on his side. Clearly, the hugely negative reaction to the display of slightly sinister nonsense, from genuinely motivated opposition politicians, the media, and the general public, prompted a very different approach to the second special session to discuss the Covid-19 crisis.
Messengers of the people
There was not a shred of the superior and antagonistic tone that surprised the opposition TDs so much the last time. From the beginning of Leo Varadkar’s conciliatory and inclusive opening, it was clear that there would be no voice from the Government telling his fellow Messengers of the People that they should be ashamed of themselves for doing the job for which they were elected.
“I appreciate the opportunity to hear from all sides of the House today,” said Leo. “Don’t be afraid to ask the tough questions. If we can answer them, we will. If we can’t, we’ll say it, but understand that in an evolving situation, it’s not always possible to answer all questions in real time. You just don’t have all the information. and a lot is happening. ”
This was greeted with a very moderate level of eyes rolling in from the few agents on the floor scattered around the benches at socially acceptable distances.
“And please share your thoughts on how we can best respond to this emergency. No party has a monopoly on wisdom and we will need good ideas and good input from all parts of the House. “
It also needs good input, wisdom and ideas from at least part of the House if a new government from two of the three largest parties is to meet (Sinn Féin has been told to isolate himself by the other pair ) and a new component extracted from a variety of highly suspicious smaller parts.
But this complicated project was not mentioned much during a debate focused solely on the state of our pandemic republic and the best way that the authorities can deal with it now and in the future.
The leader of Fianna Fáil, who became Rotisserie Taoiseach if the Great Amalgam is achieved, made a very sensible and measured contribution. For the sake of fate, if not yet posterity.
Will Micheál Martin ever be able to sit in Leo’s seat? The first part of that precious journey through the flat is in place: Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael have agreed to rule together for the first time, a monumental rearrangement of the political landscape that they have disappointingly discovered is only of interest to them and hopeless political Anoraks.
They need to find a willing victim now. Or perhaps a disinterested and public-spirited partner willing to expose himself for the sake of providing a stable government at a very dangerous juncture for the country and its people.
That’s a hard question.
The main problem raised during the debate was the grim scenario in many care homes across the country, where the death rate is spiraling and the situation for staff and equipment is on the wrong track.
Sinn Féin’s Pearse Doherty was strong on the subject, replacing their leader Mary Lou McDonald, whom the virus has brought down. There were good wishes for his swift return to Dáil’s hostilities everywhere. There were also good wishes, for a happier reason, extended to Alan Kelly, the new leader of the Labor Party on his first outing since his promotion.
The Taoiseach made abundant notes when the questions came thick and fast. He covered one side of a folded sheet of paper with a spider-like scrawl (once a doctor, always a doctor) and filled another and another.
Strict deadlines
It was difficult for him to keep up with the questions, asked without a trace of hostility or political play by members of the opposition. With strict time limits on the duration of contributions, the Taoiseach sighed that it was faster to ask a question than to answer one “but I want to answer as many as I can.”
When the opening statements concluded, the Ceann Comhairle asked questions. Plus? The Taoiseach fluttered its crowded pages in the air. “But… But… I’ve scored one, two, three, four… There is a lot to go on before the next batch.
There were many responses from the Taoiseach and then from its Minister of Health, Simon Harris, about the problems in the nursing homes and the crisis reported in some sectors by the lack of equipment.
Mattie McGrath briefly clouded the problem with a tongue slip that she quickly corrected by ordering more “physical education” kits for nursing homes.
Eamon Ryan of the Greens (seen as the man most likely to provide the third tranche to the government bench even though the Green Party sounds a long way from any kind of decision) made a broad contribution, ending with a call for better wages and conditions for care workers and front-line workers in all areas.
He also spoke about concerns about the tests, as did Róisín Shortall of the Social Democrats, who spoke about large pharmaceutical companies that retain a chemical agent needed for test equipment.
The Taoiseach had a long and detailed answer about two companies that she specifically mentioned. “I am learning a lot about it, as many people are, and one thing I have learned is that different machines use different reagents,” he began, launching a dissertation on the different types of machines on the market and how they use different forms of the chemical substance.
Things are changing day by day. One crisis is overcome by another and another, he said.
“At various points in the past month, there has been a shortage of swabs. At different points, there has been a shortage of test kits, reagents, and laboratory capacity and it’s almost like a whale whack “trying to keep up.
“So it is never as simple as it is sometimes depicted in the comments.”
But still, the news from caretakers about equipment and conditions, as recounted many times Thursday in the Dáil, did not match what Taoiseach was saying to TDs.
“I ask people to keep in mind that this is a virus that did not exist three or four months ago. It had no name two months ago.
There was praise and understanding for the Taoiseach and the Minister of Health along with the difficult questions.
Not everyone responded satisfactorily, but Varadkar and Harris did a good job of providing transparency and showed their willingness to continue to do so.
A much-needed session. It’s a shame that they had to fight to make it happen.
But a good day of work for all those interested in the Dáil.
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