Covid 19 Part XXI-27,908 in ROI (1,777 deaths) 6,647 in NI (559 deaths)(22/08)Read OP

s1ippy

fritzelly wrote: »

Not getting on with MM it would seem :rolleyes:

I just cannot imagine the two of them in the same room - two totally different persona

100% this. You can't have two parties who are usually directly in opposition to each other running a country together. Leo engages in deliberate acts to undermine MM. MM tries to be diplomatic but the mudslinging going on is actually pathetic. It's childish schoolyard sh!te and now is not the time for it. Lives are literally at stake ffs.

Strumms

Goldengirl wrote: »

I reckon SF keeping a low profile because they know they will hoover up a lot of FF voters after this shambles. Let the others do the heavy lifting during this and MaryLou will be asked to take over then .
Think they are all a pack of useless fxxxers at this stage but was pleasantly surprised at Leo and Simon at the start of all this . They struck the right note .
Big mistake to change Taoiseach and Health Minister in the middle of this , both politically and for our sakes .

Yep, I agree. If they are seen to be anti government and aggressively negative in their tone the electorate including many fence sitters could turn on them. It would be something given the scope of crises that covid has brought on the population that would be remembered and talked of for decades.

Mary Lou and the rest do already I guess and are on record to support and value the lives and wellbeing of Garda killers, other murderers and criminals ahead of ordinary honest citizens and their families in this state though, nothing would surprise you.

s1ippy

MickeyLeari wrote: »

Which of his Ministers were at the dinner?

Sorry I meant FG SENATOR Jerry B and feckin EU Commissioner for FG Phil H. Flew in from Brussels and everything for it. Did he self quarantine? Did he fu

fritzelly

s1ippy wrote: »

100% this. You can't have two parties who are usually directly in opposition to each other running a country together. Leo engages in deliberate acts to undermine MM. MM tries to be diplomatic but the mudslinging going on is actually pathetic. It's childish schoolyard sh!te and now is not the time for it. Lives are literally at stake ffs.

Is there any actual proof of LV being the petulant child - all I've seen has just been rumours

I would hazard a guess that many in FF are not happy with MM right now

Goldengirl

s1ippy wrote: »

100% this. You can't have two parties who are usually directly in opposition to each other running a country together. Leo engages in deliberate acts to undermine MM. MM tries to be diplomatic but the mudslinging going on is actually pathetic. It's childish schoolyard sh!te and now is not the time for it. Lives are literally at stake ffs.

Did you not get the bit where MM said about pandemic payments and supports would be continued on for the " next 2 years of this government " and hopefully the economy would be sorting itself out enough after that to recover ie , when Leo is back in the hotseat! That was an obvious jibe .
I'd say they are not getting on is an understatement.

fritzelly

Goldengirl wrote: »

Did you not get the bit where MM said about pandemic payments and supports would be continued on for the " next 2 years of this government " and hopefully the economy would be sorting itself out enough after that to recover ie , when Leo is back in the hotseat! That was an obvious jibe .
I'd say they are not getting on is an understatement.

When did he say that? I thought it was til next March or April time

s1ippy

fritzelly wrote: »

Is there any actual proof of LV being the petulant child - all I've seen has just been rumours

I would hazard a guess that many in FF are not happy with MM right now

They don't call him leaky Leo for nothing. Remember when the green list was being published and he was like "I don't know why they're publishing it". Eh, because YOUR government said it was going to be published. He always comes out of meetings and blurts crap out to journalists. He never did that when he was in charge I noticed.

I'd imagine likewise MM is not happy with many of his party either, or himself if he has a modicum of humility. I met him last year at an event and would have crawled out of my own body to get away from him, my guess is that he doesn't have an iota of self-reflection or the capacity for any contrition whatsoever.

MickeyLeari

caveat emptor wrote: »

At least the user name is transparent.
"there is no proof of anyone ever taking the virus from one country to another"
"it's not a travel related virus"
Quiz question......

Where is Ryanair's largest European mainland base?
Bergamo
Where was the epicentre of infection in Europe?
Bergamo

Are you saying that Ryanair was the super spreader of the virus? Serious question.

And you are well aware that the recent increases of cases in Ireland are not travel related. Or do you not believe the Minister (3 out of 100 cases) or the European Centre for Disease Control?

Goldengirl

fritzelly wrote: »

Is there any actual proof of LV being the petulant child - all I've seen has just been rumours

I would hazard a guess that many in FF are not happy with MM right now

Yes it could be anti FG wink and nod from MM and SD , and they might have deliberately left him out of the lineup for the briefing .
Probably thought he'd steal their thunder , but well their thinking was a bit skewed on that one , lol.
They could have done with having him there to point at and say , " it's all his fault , wasn't us " .

MOR316

MickeyLeari wrote: »

Are you saying that Ryanair was the super spreader of the virus? Serious question.

And you are well aware that the recent increases of cases in Ireland are not travel related. Or do you not believe the Minister (3 out of 100 cases) or the European Centre for Disease Control?

The Minister fell off a trampoline and hit his head so he doesn't know what he's saying half the time

fritzelly

Goldengirl wrote: »

Yes it could be anti FG wink and nod from MM and SD , and they might have deliberately left him out of the lineup for the briefing .
Probably thought he'd steal their thunder , but well their thinking was a bit skewed on that one , lol.
They could have done with having him there to point at and say , " it's all his fault , wasn't us " .

My thoughts on the day were MM didn't want to be shown up again with his bumbling speech and LV managing to string more than 2 words together into a coherent sentence (and I still kinda think that to a degree)

Goldengirl

fritzelly wrote: »

When did he say that? I thought it was til next March or April time

Said " if "it went on as long as it had to ..
Would recover or be recovered over the later stages of government through taxes or GDP ...
It struck me that he was pushing it on to Leo to recover and Leo was behind him and didn't look at all impressed !
Was it his first speech or press briefing ? Can't remember which .

MickeyLeari

Goldengirl wrote: »

Yes it could be anti FG wink and nod from MM and SD , and they might have deliberately left him out of the lineup for the briefing .
Probably thought he'd steal their thunder , but well their thinking was a bit skewed on that one , lol.
They could have done with having him there to point at and say , " it's all his fault , wasn't us " .

From media reports, I understand that he joined the Cabinet meeting by video link from Government buildings in Mayo so that would explain his non attendance at the Press briefing.

Seemingly he was annoyed at being bounced into a Cabinet meeting and seemingly said (Paraphrasing) that if the Government continues to operate like this the Government will not last very long.

fritzelly

MickeyLeari wrote: »

From media reports, I understand that he joined the Cabinet meeting by video link from Government buildings in Mayo so that would explain his non attendance at the Press briefing.

Seemingly he was annoyed at being bounced into a Cabinet meeting and seemingly said (Paraphrasing) that if the Government continues to operate like this the Government will not last very long.

Ahh thanks - was sure he was away on staycation

khalessi

MickeyLeari wrote: »

From media reports, I understand that he joined the Cabinet meeting by video link from Government buildings in Mayo so that would explain his non attendance at the Press briefing.

Seemingly he was annoyed at being bounced into a Cabinet meeting and seemingly said (Paraphrasing) that if the Government continues to operate like this the Government will not last very long.

He wouldn't be wrong

Goldengirl

MickeyLeari wrote: »

Are you saying that Ryanair was the super spreader of the virus? Serious question.

And you are well aware that the recent increases of cases in Ireland are not travel related. Or do you not believe the Minister (3 out of 100 cases) or the European Centre for Disease Control?

Did you read my new election manifesto for you , back a few posts ?

fritzelly

Still confused why they had the third podium there - were they planning a max headroom?
Surely to god no one suggested Eamon Ryan be there

caveat emptor

MickeyLeari wrote: »

Are you saying that Ryanair was the super spreader of the virus? Serious question.

And you are well aware that the recent increases of cases in Ireland are not travel related. Or do you not believe the Minister (3 out of 100 cases) or the European Centre for Disease Control?

How did the virus arrive here? I guess you think it must have been by boat. That's a theory. Fair play

Goldengirl

fritzelly wrote: »

Still confused why they had the third podium there - were they planning a max headroom?
Surely to god no one suggested Eamon Ryan be there

He was gas , so proud , with his arms folded , and a really big , inappropriate smile on his face on such a night !

MickeyLeari

Goldengirl wrote: »

Did you read my new election manifesto for you , back a few posts ?

I did. Thanks. Will you bring it to the focus groups first and see whether it is a runner - will I even reach the quota and get my deposit back?

khalessi

caveat emptor wrote: »

How did the virus arrive here? I guess you think it must have been by boat. That's a theory. Fair play

Was it not a family returning from a ski trip in Feb?

fritzelly

khalessi wrote: »

Was it not a family returning from a ski trip in Feb?

A doctor no less...
But did we not find evidence it was already spreading here before that - pretty sure that was the case

Edit to say there was a death attributed to the virus before the family IIRC and the likely first case was imported from Germany

MickeyLeari

caveat emptor wrote: »

How did the virus arrive here? I guess you think it must have been by boat. That's a theory. Fair play

International travel was absolutely the means by which infected people brought the virus to different countries. I am not denying that.

How it got to Italy and spread so quickly there is an interesting question. Some consider that it relates to illegal Chinese workers in the textile sweat shops in Tuscany and Northern Italy. And indeed the theory is that many of these workers arrived by boat into Genoa.

Goldengirl

MickeyLeari wrote: »

I did. Thanks. Will you bring it to the focus groups first and see whether it is a runner - will I even reach the quota and get my deposit back?

Ah Mickey it's not all about the money is it ?
Sure you must be minted with all those shares and extra payments for cabin bags etc .?

khalessi

fritzelly wrote: »

A doctor no less...
But did we not find evidence it was already spreading here before that - pretty sure that was the case

I reckon my brother and his wife had it in December but they were never diagnosed

s1ippy

MickeyLeari wrote: »

I did. Thanks. Will you bring it to the focus groups first and see whether it is a runner - will I even reach the quota and get my deposit back?

I think most of the commentators on here would make absolute sh!t of the buffoons in there and their trampolines, ahhh dubidubiduba, yourselves included Mickey and GG. The country needs a coherent alternative, if we can all tear strips off each other this respectfully when we're united in opposition, at least we'll hold each other to account. Ireland simpsons fans have their own "political party", imagine if boards did too :pac:

Goldengirl wrote: »

Said " if "it went on as long as it had to ..
Would recover or be recovered over the later stages of government through taxes or GDP ...
It struck me that he was pushing it on to Leo to recover and Leo was behind him and didn't look at all impressed !

Ahhh, I had wondered where the buck stopped.

khalessi

I dont think the mods could cope with a Boards Political party

Goldengirl

khalessi wrote: »

I reckon my brother and his wife had it in December but they were never diagnosed

Yes.
And the cases in Cork in mid February were never traced back to any travel and were Wuhan strain .

I think one of my sons friends brought it back from Germany end of January ( on a Ryanair flight) .

So not travel but yes travel !

fritzelly

Goldengirl wrote: »

Yes.
And the cases in Cork in mid February were never traced back to any travel and were Wuhan strain .

I think one of my sons friends brought it back from Germany end of January ( on a Ryanair flight) .

So not travel but yes travel !

Your brother has a lot to answer for

fritzelly wrote: »

A doctor no less...
But did we not find evidence it was already spreading here before that - pretty sure that was the case

Edit to say there was a death attributed to the virus before the family IIRC and the likely first case was imported from Germany

khalessi

Goldengirl wrote: »

Yes.
And the cases in Cork in mid February were never traced back to any travel and were Wuhan strain .

I think one of my sons friends brought it back from Germany end of January ( on a Ryanair flight) .

So not travel but yes travel !

Well there is the theory about the War Games in Wuhan in October, Irish army was there and some were sick. ALso a lot of bac and forth between here and China

MickeyLeari

From today’s Irish Times (in my opinion worth the 50 cents a day subscription).

Chaotic Coalition undermining public confidence
Stephen Collins
The ham-fisted way the Government went about devising the new set of Covid-19 restrictions does not say much for the cohesion of the Coalition; far more ominously, the infighting at Cabinet has raised serious doubts about its ability to guide the country through the pandemic.
After what, by all accounts, was a shambolic Cabinet meeting on Tuesday, Fine Gael Ministers claimed Taoiseach Micheál Martin and Minister for Health Stephen Donnelly had not engaged in prior consultation, while the Fianna Fáil side accused Leo Varadkar of acting as if he was still Taoiseach.
Unless the three party leaders quickly get a grip and start communicating with each other in a more structured fashion in advance of future Government meetings, they will make more mistakes and undermine public confidence in their capacity to tackle the crisis.
Things started to go wrong last Monday night when Ministers were informed that a full Cabinet meeting would take place the following day to consider new recommendations from the National Public Health Emergency Team. Fine Gael Ministers were surprised that a meeting of the Covid-19 Cabinet sub-committee was not summoned first to thrash out a clear response to the team.
The result was that an intense debate erupted at Cabinet with Varadkar in particular expressing anger at the way the issue was being dealt with. It appears that disagreement did not just break down on party lines, with some Fianna Fáil and Green Party Ministers also objecting to the initial plan put forward by Donnelly. The frayed tempers led to a substantial amount of chopping and changing which in turn resulted in a number of contradictory new restrictions being included in the plan announced by the Taoiseach after the meeting.
Inconsistencies
For instance, outdoor sporting events will have to be held behind closed doors but cinemas can operate with social distancing; people are being discouraged from using public transport while children will be encouraged to avail of school buses; only six people from three households can meet in a private home but larger groups can eat out in restaurants.
While some inconsistencies were probably inevitable, the number of them threatens to bring the entire plan into disrepute. The angry response of the GAA was just one indication that the social cohesion which has been so important in dealing with the pandemic is beginning to fray.
The lesson for the Government is that potential problems and inconsistencies need to be ironed out in advance of Cabinet meetings. The entire system of Government advisers and Cabinet sub-committees is designed to ensure that disagreements are dealt with before they get to Cabinet so that they do not generate serious political instability.
Sources in all three Government parties say that to date no sense of esprit de corps has developed between Ministers of different parties or their advisers. One reason for this is the social distancing restrictions imposed by the pandemic itself. Much Dáil business has been taking place in the Convention Centre, and Ministers and their officials no longer occupy offices along the ministerial corridor linking the Department of the Taoiseach and Leinster House. “Having adjacent offices enabled people from different Coalition parties to get to know each other and to discuss issues in an informal way. That is no longer the case,” remarked one adviser.
Leinster House
That raises the question of why Dáil business has been moved from Leinster House to the soulless Convention Centre. If politicians are expecting teachers and students to go back to school at the end of this month, why can’t they lead by example and find a way of operating in Leinster House while observing social distancing.Anybody who has visited the Dáil knows that for most the time the chamber is inhabited by just a handful of TDs while the rest go about their business in their offices. Dáil votes do pose a problem of social distancing but surely it would not be impossible to devise a system whereby TDs could vote from their offices or come into the chamber in a staggered arrangement.
The shortcomings in the response of the political system to Covid-19 are an illustration of the fact that there is no perfect answer to dilemmas posed by the pandemic. On the one hand there is the imperative to do everything possible to protect life but, on the other, there is the necessity of avoiding complete economic collapse that would in the long run cost even more lives than Covid-19.
This is why politicians cannot countenance a return to a full lockdown, even if such a course of action is recommended by the public health emergency team. The scale of the economic hit inflicted by the virus has been cushioned to date by a range of Government support schemes but mass unemployment and widespread hardship will be hard to avoid.
If another lockdown is out of the question, combating the virus will require a unified response from Irish society. That is why the Coalition needs to get its act together from now on and come up with crisp, clear and coherent advice to get us through the tough times ahead.

Goldengirl

khalessi wrote: »

I dont think the mods could cope with a Boards Political party

Yes . Better sign off before we get into trouble for all this politicking, even if it's slightly Covid related
Goodnight .

caveat emptor

khalessi wrote: »

Was it not a family returning from a ski trip in Feb?

One is a fairly round number and what airline might they have flown with via which airport?

So many questions and so little answers....

caveat emptor

MickeyLeari wrote: »

International travel was absolutely the means by which infected people brought the virus to different countries. I am not denying that.

How it got to Italy and spread so quickly there is an interesting question. Some consider that it relates to illegal Chinese workers in the textile sweat shops in Tuscany and Northern Italy. And indeed the theory is that many of these workers arrived by boat into Genoa.

That's pure whataboutery and not related to your statement that
"it's not travel related"
It kinda is. Lets keep importing it and keep locking down. Great strategy.

s1ippy

MickeyLeari wrote: »

From today’s Irish Times (in my opinion worth the 50 cents a day subscription).

Chaotic Coalition undermining public confidence
Stephen Collins
The ham-fisted way the Government went about devising the new set of Covid-19 restrictions does not say much for the cohesion of the Coalition; far more ominously, the infighting at Cabinet has raised serious doubts about its ability to guide the country through the pandemic.
After what, by all accounts, was a shambolic Cabinet meeting on Tuesday, Fine Gael Ministers claimed Taoiseach Micheál Martin and Minister for Health Stephen Donnelly had not engaged in prior consultation, while the Fianna Fáil side accused Leo Varadkar of acting as if he was still Taoiseach.
Unless the three party leaders quickly get a grip and start communicating with each other in a more structured fashion in advance of future Government meetings, they will make more mistakes and undermine public confidence in their capacity to tackle the crisis.
Things started to go wrong last Monday night when Ministers were informed that a full Cabinet meeting would take place the following day to consider new recommendations from the National Public Health Emergency Team. Fine Gael Ministers were surprised that a meeting of the Covid-19 Cabinet sub-committee was not summoned first to thrash out a clear response to the team.
The result was that an intense debate erupted at Cabinet with Varadkar in particular expressing anger at the way the issue was being dealt with. It appears that disagreement did not just break down on party lines, with some Fianna Fáil and Green Party Ministers also objecting to the initial plan put forward by Donnelly. The frayed tempers led to a substantial amount of chopping and changing which in turn resulted in a number of contradictory new restrictions being included in the plan announced by the Taoiseach after the meeting.
Inconsistencies
For instance, outdoor sporting events will have to be held behind closed doors but cinemas can operate with social distancing; people are being discouraged from using public transport while children will be encouraged to avail of school buses; only six people from three households can meet in a private home but larger groups can eat out in restaurants.
While some inconsistencies were probably inevitable, the number of them threatens to bring the entire plan into disrepute. The angry response of the GAA was just one indication that the social cohesion which has been so important in dealing with the pandemic is beginning to fray.
The lesson for the Government is that potential problems and inconsistencies need to be ironed out in advance of Cabinet meetings. The entire system of Government advisers and Cabinet sub-committees is designed to ensure that disagreements are dealt with before they get to Cabinet so that they do not generate serious political instability.
Sources in all three Government parties say that to date no sense of esprit de corps has developed between Ministers of different parties or their advisers. One reason for this is the social distancing restrictions imposed by the pandemic itself. Much Dáil business has been taking place in the Convention Centre, and Ministers and their officials no longer occupy offices along the ministerial corridor linking the Department of the Taoiseach and Leinster House. “Having adjacent offices enabled people from different Coalition parties to get to know each other and to discuss issues in an informal way. That is no longer the case,” remarked one adviser.
Leinster House
That raises the question of why Dáil business has been moved from Leinster House to the soulless Convention Centre. If politicians are expecting teachers and students to go back to school at the end of this month, why can’t they lead by example and find a way of operating in Leinster House while observing social distancing.Anybody who has visited the Dáil knows that for most the time the chamber is inhabited by just a handful of TDs while the rest go about their business in their offices. Dáil votes do pose a problem of social distancing but surely it would not be impossible to devise a system whereby TDs could vote from their offices or come into the chamber in a staggered arrangement.
The shortcomings in the response of the political system to Covid-19 are an illustration of the fact that there is no perfect answer to dilemmas posed by the pandemic. On the one hand there is the imperative to do everything possible to protect life but, on the other, there is the necessity of avoiding complete economic collapse that would in the long run cost even more lives than Covid-19.
This is why politicians cannot countenance a return to a full lockdown, even if such a course of action is recommended by the public health emergency team. The scale of the economic hit inflicted by the virus has been cushioned to date by a range of Government support schemes but mass unemployment and widespread hardship will be hard to avoid.
If another lockdown is out of the question, combating the virus will require a unified response from Irish society. That is why the Coalition needs to get its act together from now on and come up with crisp, clear and coherent advice to get us through the tough times ahead.

Shot most decidedly fired there. Brilliantly written.

Quantum Erasure

khalessi wrote: »

I reckon my brother and his wife had it in December but they were never diagnosed

half the country had it in December / January (or so they say)

GooglePlus

Quantum Erasure wrote: »

half the country had it in December / January (or so they say)

Well the way the numbers are across Europe now compared to hospital admissions/deaths, who's to say it wasn't about then?

Wasn't there a French doctor who tested blood samples taken in December and one tested positive for Covid? Or has that been debunked, it's hard to keep up at times.

Edit: https://www.irishtimes.com/news/world/europe/french-hospital-discovers-it-had-case-of-coronavirus-in-december-1.4245275

Our testing capacity seems to be picking up this virus in the early days now, so we're seeing what we didn't before. Asymptomatic transmission seems to be a lot higher than we thought.

Deusexmachina

s1ippy wrote: »

Shot most decidedly fired there. Brilliantly written.

At last, some coherent commentary.

Simple steps required from Government:

1. Decide on the overall goal - we can’t irradiate Covid 19 - what are we trying to achieve.
2. Set targets and stick to them.
3. Clearly set out guidelines by sector - travel, business, agriculture, entertainment, retail, arts, education etc.
4. Develop a consistent communication strategy with emphasis on instilling confidence, positivity and authority. Stop the ‘deeply concerning’ ‘deeply worrying’ talk. That’s not leadership, that’s fear mongering.
5. Stop the blame game. It’s deeply divisive and doesn’t help anyone. if someone makes mistakes, stop pretending to be horrified. It’s childish.

Ll31

I dont see how Dara Calleary can survive this. It's just too much of an insult to the people who've missed seeing family members, funerals, postponed their own important family events that a minister who approves restrictions for the citizens of this country one day, decides the next day that those restrictions dont apply to him.

And hes gone.

plodder

Calleary has resigned apparently (just announced on RTE radio). What other TDs and senators were at the event? I couldn't believe it when I read it was an Oireachtas society that organised it. It's hard to comprehend the stupidity behind this.

Ll31

Deusexmachina wrote: »

At last, some coherent commentary.

Simple steps required from Government:

1. Decide on the overall goal - we can’t irradiate Covid 19 - what are we trying to achieve.
2. Set targets and stick to them.
3. Clearly set out guidelines by sector - travel, business, agriculture, entertainment, retail, arts, education etc.
4. Develop a consistent communication strategy with emphasis on instilling confidence, positivity and authority. Stop the ‘deeply concerning’ ‘deeply worrying’ talk. That’s not leadership, that’s fear mongering.
5. Stop the blame game. It’s deeply divisive and doesn’t help anyone. if someone makes mistakes, stop pretending to be horrified. It’s childish.

Agree with a lot of above. My fear would be that sectoral plans dont actually exist to any reasonable level... looking at example of education for example...

Think there needs to be some acceptance r acknowledgement re moving towards living with as opposed to eradication which seems impossible at least in advance of vaccine

lee_baby_simms

Ll31 wrote: »

And hes gone.

Well, he had a good run.

mirrorwall14

Tbh I’m impressed that he did. It was epically stupid but it wouldn’t be the first time someone brazened it out

What Username Guidelines

https://twitter.com/sandra_hurley/status/1296703104520458240?s=20

Oranage2

Need to really clear up the rules now (3 days later) about this hotel. If Berlin were breaking the rules then surely this hotel was too.

Can people have weddings of 300 people if theyre in 6 partitioned off rooms.

Can a gym class have more in the class if it's partioned off. Crazy to think a sports hall and a space the size of a living room are allowed 6 only.

Hopefully the government clarify if the hotel was in the right or wrong.

Wanderer78

Deusexmachina wrote:

1. Decide on the overall goal - we can’t irradiate Covid 19 - what are we trying to achieve. 2. Set targets and stick to them. 3. Clearly set out guidelines by sector - travel, business, agriculture, entertainment, retail, arts, education etc. 4. Develop a consistent communication strategy with emphasis on instilling confidence, positivity and authority. Stop the ‘deeply concerning’ ‘deeply worrying’ talk. That’s not leadership, that’s fear mongering. 5. Stop the blame game. It’s deeply divisive and doesn’t help anyone. if someone makes mistakes, stop pretending to be horrified. It’s childish.

What happens if things change unexpectedly in regards the virus, if we have a rigid plan, would it be flexible enough to withstand sudden needed change?

plodder

Oranage2 wrote: »

Need to really clear up the rules now (3 days later) about this hotel. If Berlin were breaking the rules then surely this hotel was too.

Can people have weddings of 300 people if theyre in 6 partitioned off rooms.

Can a gym class have more in the class if it's partioned off. Crazy to think a sports hall and a space the size of a living room are allowed 6 only.

Hopefully the government clarify if the hotel was in the right or wrong.

More detail in the IT. It seems they thought a partition across the room was enough to satisfy the rules (which was pulled back for the speeches). Ten people at tables, all from different households presumably. Lots of shaking of hands and no social distancing.

stephenjmcd

https://twitter.com/gavreilly/status/1296705591411445760?s=19

Jackman25

stephenjmcd wrote: »

A person staying at the hotel with his family told the Irish Times he saw no evidence of social distancing when he witnessed the attendees arriving.

“No masks. No distancing,” said the the witness who asked that his name not be used.

He said he had to push his kids through two Oireachtas members whom he recognised to try to get to the lift.

“My 11 year old who is Covid anxious was hugely upset. The hotel has been brilliant all week on all Covid aspects. This was a really strange event with all that in mind.

“At the reception people were being introduced to each other and shaking hands. No distancing and no masks. We were flabbergasted.”

https://twitter.com/ConorGallaghe_r/status/1296582419441745920?s=19

I wonder where that poor child is picking up the Covid anxiety

stephenjmcd

https://twitter.com/Philip_Ryan/status/1296708959957590016?s=19