How would you rate the governments performance tackling Covid so far

Red Silurian

is_that_so wrote: »

You seem to be endowing him with some level of superpowers!

Our Taoiseach thinks he has superpowers

There are some rumours about nothing being replaced unless we have under 200 new cases a day with the govt saying that it's not as simple as that and they have no figures in mind

Would it not be better if they had such figures in mind?

What they should really be doing is telling the people that if the R-number is below 0.8 and new cases are under 200 for 3 days in a row and 14/7/5 day averages are under 300/250/200 we can move from level 5 to level 4 and then tell us what the figures need to get to move down the alert levels

Communication is key

VinLieger

Eggs For Dinner wrote: »

It wasn't arrogance. FF/FG specifically said they wouldn't entertain coalition with SF and that's one of the reasons they got so many votes. Despite the shinners saying people voted for change (25%), the majority voted to keep them out

Saying the majority voted to keep them out is childish identity politics, the majority didn't vote for them that's all it was.


FYI I voted FG and have for the last 20 years but i think they were especially arrogant not entering into a rainbow like coalition with them based on promises made before the world was turned on its head. I say they were arrogant because they obviously believed they were going to manage this situation in a way that would leave both them and FF in a far stronger position over SF, ie a return to their traditional 2 major parties roles with SF as that small annoying punching bag they can blame everything on, but that is patently now not what is going to happen.

Cluedo Monopoly

For Forks Sake wrote: »

Poor and all as the current govt is with three elements trying to knife each other, what exactly would have improved if you threw SF, SocDems , Lab and the alphabet soupers into the mix?

I would have recommended a national government last Spring but having watched the coalition of chaos in action over the past 9 months, I agree it would not have worked. The cooperation and communications between FF and FG and Greens over the past 9 months has been grossly unprofessional. There was never any trust or consensus despite a national crisis. They are too entrenched. It was made worse by the Golfgate fiasco. FG ministers do not support their FF counterparts. In fact FG ministers take obvious glee from high profile ministers in FF getting into trouble (e.g. Health, Education). I doubt Leo and Michael are on friendly terms at the moment and to be fair FG/Leo is to blame for a lot of the tension. The Green party were sent out as a legacy FFG shield with respect to the Mother and Baby home report shambles and they will pay a heavy price.

Mullaghteelin

VinLieger wrote: »

Saying the majority voted to keep them out is childish identity politics, the majority didn't vote for them that's all it was.

I think you need to brush up on the definition of "identity politics." I despise identity politics, and I'm no fan of any of the political parties you mention, but identity politics has got nothing to do with people voting against the two big parties.

VinLieger

Mullaghteelin wrote: »

I think you need to brush up on the definition of "identity politics." I despise identity politics, and I'm no fan of any of the political parties you mention, but identity politics has got nothing to do with people voting against the two big parties.

I know the meaning perfectly well thanks and I still believe that it is an accurate descriptor of the meaning behind the post I was replying to.

GazzaL

Deleted User wrote: »

exactly - this is what I mean.

My conservative 63 year old sister and her 70 year old husband living in Donegal have given up with the 5km restrictions. She was the most restriction abiding person I knew all last year, something we clashed on a few times. :rolleyes:

My cousin who I spoke to last night lives in Wexford, she is 62, she has also started to meet friends outdoors for walks and coffees. She never dreamt of doing all last year, she also goes wherever she likes now, no more 5km for her. She is "going shopping" or "visiting a grave"

When middle aged rural dwellers give up compliance its says far more about the mood of the nation than when it's college students or people going to a protest.

I live in a busy area of North Leinster and its clearly visible that there's huge amounts of people out now compared to last year. All socially distancing, wearing masks in queues for coffee etc, but far bigger numbers than any time up to now!

I was chatting with an elderly lady today who said today was the first time she'd broken restrictions. She went outside her 5km radius to attend a funeral of a friend. She had missed other funerals and felt it wasn't right. She was full of apologies for breaking the restrictions. I just tried to reassure her that there was nothing wrong with what she was doing.

GT89

It has been nothing short of a disgrace. I believe the reason the government won't back down on the restrictions is because that would mean the government would have to admit they got it wrong.

PintOfView

GT89 wrote: »

It has been nothing short of a disgrace. I believe the reason the government won't back down on the restrictions is because that would mean the government would have to admit they got it wrong.

What part do you think they got wrong?

And what restrictions do you want the government to back down on?

Danzy

GT89 wrote: »

It has been nothing short of a disgrace. I believe the reason the government won't back down on the restrictions is because that would mean the government would have to admit they got it wrong.

The whole thing is very bad, a disgrace, someone call Joe Duffy.

cooperguy

Manach wrote: »

If the parties could have included Sinn Fein in a unity government for the duration, then at least it would have been an equity effort across the spectrum.

What does that even mean. What policy has SF been pushing that the government haven't done? They have supported the vast majority of government policy

KaneToad

GT89 wrote: »

It has been nothing short of a disgrace. I believe the reason the government won't back down on the restrictions is because that would mean the government would have to admit they got it wrong.

What did they get wrong? The only way they can curb the spread of the virus and stop the health service crashing is with these restrictions.

We could argue that the health service shouldn't be in such a bad state to begin with...but now is not the time for major health service reform. If we don't emerge from this having learned major lessons about health, education, travel, remote working etc... we will have failed spectacularly.

Cluedo Monopoly

KaneToad wrote: »

We could argue that the health service shouldn't be in such a bad state to begin with...but now is not the time for major health service reform. If we don't emerge from this having learned major lessons about health, education, travel, remote working etc... we will have failed spectacularly.

We could argue that very well. Here is another from plead for help from the INMO in November 2019 (2 months before Covid appeared).

https://inmo.ie/Home/Index/217/13549

2019 has seen the highest number of patients on trolleys in any year since records began – despite it still being November.

The INMO is calling for extra staffing and an increase in hospital, homecare, and community capacity to deal with the problem.

“Winter has only just begun and the record is already broken. These statistics are the hallmark of a wildly bureaucratic health service, which is failing staff and patients alike.

“We take no pleasure in having to record these figures for a decade and a half. We know the problem, but we also know the solutions: extra beds in hospitals, safe staffing levels, and more step-down and community care outside of the hospital.

“No other developed country faces anything close to this trolley problem. It can be solved, but a strong political agenda to drive change is needed.

“The INMO has written to the health and safety authorities this week to try force a change from the employers. Hospitals should be a place of safety and care – not danger.”

Decades of inaction from the FFG power swap.

jcon1913

Cluedo Monopoly wrote: »

We could argue that very well. Here is another from plead for help from the INMO in November 2019 (2 months before Covid appeared).

https://inmo.ie/Home/Index/217/13549



Decades of inaction from the FFG power swap.

INMO calls for more funding for the health service. In other news St Patricks Day is the 17th of March.

Nothing new there.

GT89

PintOfView wrote: »

What part do you think they got wrong?

And what restrictions do you want the government to back down on?

The severity of covid

All restrictions Level 0. We need to go back to normal like Florida and Texas.

PintOfView

GT89 wrote: »

The severity of covid

All restrictions Level 0. We need to go back to normal like Florida and Texas.

And what makes you think we wouldn't immediately have a new surge of covid, like Italy (schools, shops, restaurants closing from next Monday) and Norway (something similar)?

GT89

PintOfView wrote: »

And what makes you think we wouldn't immediately have a new surge of covid, like Italy (schools, shops, restaurants closing from next Monday) and Norway (something similar)?

Or instead of being like Italy and Norway we could be like Bulgaria.
https://www.euractiv.com/section/politics/short_news/bulgaria-will-not-impose-new-lockdown-because-people-dont-want-it/

Edgarfrndly

GT89 wrote: »

Or instead of being like Italy and Norway we could be like Bulgaria.
https://www.euractiv.com/section/politics/short_news/bulgaria-will-not-impose-new-lockdown-because-people-dont-want-it/

Bulgaria had 4637 new cases yesterday. Why would we want to be like Bulgaria?

GT89

Edgarfrndly wrote: »

Bulgaria had 4637 new cases yesterday. Why would we want to be like Bulgaria?

Because life is likely normal there and people don't give a sh1t about covid maybe as in Florida. No restrictions in Florida since September and no one gives a sh1t.

Edgarfrndly

GT89 wrote: »

Because life is likely normal there and people don't give a sh1t about covid maybe as in Florida. No restrictions in Florida since September and no one gives a sh1t.

It's not normal there though, their health service is overwhelmed and they have one of the highest deaths per capita from covid in the world.

So why would Ireland want to go back to thousands of daily cases, and decimate the HSE again? I've multiple hospital appointments deferred because of the pressures covid has placed on the system. We're finally get back to getting it under control - and the first thing you want to do is to overwhelm the HSE again.

cooperguy

GT89 wrote: »

Because life is likely normal there and people don't give a sh1t about covid maybe as in Florida. No restrictions in Florida since September and no one gives a sh1t.

I doubt they are enjoying overwhelmed hospitals where even people without Covid cant get standard medical care. Recipe for disaster...

VinLieger

Im expecting mass civil disobedience to all travel restrictions come Easter weekend and once that happens government will find it very difficult to exert authority over the situation again.

They have only themselves to blame though, they have given people nothing to hope or strive for while at the same time blaming the public for everything. Ronan Glynns comments from the other night speak volumes about how disconnected the government and NPHET are from the rest of the country.

Like others on here ive been obeying and actively supporting the restrictions but mid to late February was when they lost me and they are losing more people like me everyday but they refuse to see that truth or do anything about it.

suicide_circus

The government are like that DJ in Fr Ted playing the same Special's record over and over again.

agoodpunt

+1 if they ever lift L5 no 1 will ever accept it again unless people are dying on the street.
Govt have shown no leadership and the opp are even worse will they regain there creditability again and when they try to tax us will we remind them how the are to blame for shutting down the economy more and longer than any other in the world.

lawred2

agoodpunt wrote: »

+1 if they ever lift L5 no 1 will ever accept it again unless people are dying on the street.
Govt have shown no leadership and the opp are even worse will they regain there creditability again and when they try to tax us will we remind them how the are to blame for shutting down the economy more and longer than any other in the world.

We say "no one will accept it" but what will anyone do?

We don't respect protest.

JacksonHeightsOwn

As crap and shambolic as they've been (FF/FG)

The thing that's even worse is, what's the alternative to them??

We genuinely don't have any other options.

Sinn fein is basically a bunch of no mark mouth pieces that have watched "in the name of the father" one too many times, that can't do anything positive in Northern Ireland, where they actually are in government. So how anyone expects them to do anything down here, I'll never know.

Labour barely exist, the social Democrats the same, greens, the same.

We literally have no other options, and those snobby, disconnected flutes from FF/FG, know that and basically have free reign to balls everything up because there's nobody there to carry the can.

Bobeagleburger

They've faired better than a lot of other countries with much bigger resources. Overall not bad tbh.

Wanderer78

chrisbonnie wrote:

We literally have no other options, and those snobby, disconnected flutes from FF/FG, know that and basically have free reign to balls everything up because there's nobody there to carry the can.

Oh patience, since our housing situation doesn't look like it 'll be resolved anytime soon, I suspect the next ge could be very very interesting!

beggars_bush

6 wrote: »

They've faired better than a lot of other countries with much bigger resources. Overall not bad tbh.

Hard to suppress the virus when its clear there are so many idiots in the country in terms of their behaviour

Wanderer78

beggars_bush wrote:

Hard to suppress the virus when its clear there are so many idiots in the country in terms of their behaviour

Idiots, in what sense?

Andrewf20

I actually have some level of sympathy for the government as they are caught between a rock and a hard place. Truth is that some people are to blame as rule breakers due to being fed up with this prolonged situation. But the virus doesn't care and its probably why cases have flatlined where they are.

Public choice theory talks about how people will often choose their own desires at the expense of the common good. This covid saga is a good example of that.

Ireland climbed to 13th in the world happiness index so maybe we are doing better than alot of other places.