The performance of Ministers during this crisis

Personally there's not a single serving minister I'd rate at even average to be honest. I won't personalise it (albeit I'm tempted) but my god, there's been some astonishing ineptitude and incompetence.

Not helping is the shocking mixed messaging and in some cases , no messaging (education comes to mind), added to this is what I perceive as a deliberate attempt by one coalition partner to undermine the very government they helped form.

At a push, I'd give Michael Mc Grath a pass.

The leadership, frankly has been utterly appalling and I especially include the interim leadership prior to this government's formation.

The background teams behind the levers of power? You mean Civil Servants?

They just took Norma Foley apart on Drivetime. She was spouting school positivity numbers yesterday that nobody can validate or understand.

Damn, missed that but I heard her yesterday talking about these miraculous positivity numbers, she was quoting 2/3% and yet schools reporting 20% to 30% absences, granted not all covid related but I smelled a rat yesterday and that too was a train crash of an interview, how this Lady is still in this job is frankly beggar's belief, the Irony being, she's actually a Teacher 🙄

I'm just thinking back to this day 2019 when we were getting ready for a normal Christmas and little did we know what was in store for us in the New Year.

If you had asked me then I would have had the usual complaints about politicians and ministers.

Now heading into our second Covid Christmas with this Government I am inclined to say they have done well.

Not spectacularly well but more than adequate to the task that fate landed them with.

No politician had the play book for this crisis and they did the best they could.

Sweeping generalisations. Always easy for the professional moaners. When you're ready to engage in actual proper discussion let us know.

Some have definitely not done great but at least they have stuck together in the national interest and have tried to get us through this. Can't wait to see the Shinners and the Trots in coalition next time. I'd imagine they will turn on each other around the cabinet table come the first whiff of a crisis and the main thing leaking will be blood under the door.

The whole of fianna gael have been appalling. They have rightfully lost massive support.

MM for all his failings is probably the best of them.

At this stage, no matter how much I distrust Sinn Fein, who probably still report to the Army Council - I dont see any choice but to give them a chance in government next time around.

It seems odd that one wouldn't compare our performance against other countries, or at least dismiss it so easily. Subjective while it might be, although i'm sure there are/will be many facts there to support it - comparison of one country vs another is a very good stick to gauge overall performance.

The fact that no country has gotten it absolutely right has to be taken to mean that the job was extremely difficult. IMO anyone who thinks that there were not going to be mishaps, mixed messaging at times, contradicting rules etc is actually seriously misguided, seriously deluded and probably a serial complainer.

Personally, i think Donnelly was a mistake but overall, i think Harris, Leo & MM have performed quite well, probably in that order. Mistakes? Sure. Some affected me and i wasn't happy. Others were affected far more and i can see why they definitely wouldn't be happy, even when looking at it subjectively.

If Boris or Don were at the wheel i can guarantee you we'd be feeling the pain alot more.

Why do you think that the thread title or OP content means we can't compare performance to other countries? Do you follow the same "rules" on other threads? It seems a very odd take. Perhaps it's cause it doesn't suit your narrative?

I'd be interested in hearing your thoughts on how Harris performed so badly. Because to be fair, it's not a widely held view. Seems one of the more competent figures in Irish politics. What was the context on the newspaper article - i can't find it on an admittedly quick search.

Well could you give us the cliffs from the article seeing as it's behind a paywall?

I presume you have access seeing as you are mentioning it.

There's ample articles for you to Google re the hapless Harris

Take this for example

Amazed he could actually count to 19 😁

Or this perhaps , not covid related technically but deflection that somewhat backfired.

Note the date on the article, apparently Harris still strongly considering 🤔

I'll throw out a few ratings (out of ten) for the ministers and trying to focus strictly on matters relating to the pandemic. For context I was a Green voter last election and likely SD in the next.

Leo Varadkar - 4 - Initially strong and quick response with the first lockdown. Impactful speeches and told the country what they generally needed to hear throughout the first wave. Registering himself for service with the HSE was likely a PR move but a brilliant one and encouraged the message of "we're all in it together" and how everyone should do their part. At no point in the pandemic were the public more united behind a single cause than the March-May period of the first wave and you have to credit his leadership.

But... he then damaged himself badly by throwing NPHET under the bus in winter 2020, downplaying medical advice at a time when were on the cusp of the most deadly part of the pandemic. He damaged himself again with his presence at Merriongate and once again with his concert trip to London at a time when such entertainment festivals couldn't take place in his own country.

I was impressed with his leadership early in the pandemic but by the end I thought of him as a Tory-lite. Great at setting the rules for the common people but with little interest in following them himself.

Simon Harris - 4 - Rescued his reputation with clear and precise guidance in the first wave and despite his misunderstanding in the origin of the Covid 19 name he generally performed well in his role for this time. In particular I appreciated his encouragement for folks with non-covid symptoms to attend doctors and hospitals during a time where there was huge hesitancy among the general public.

His role in higher education has rarely been too noteworthy although he did manage to screw over many students and parents through giving assurances in September 2020 over accommodation bookings but failing to compensate or protect the renter once everything was shut down a few months later. His frequent cabinet leaks shouldn't be ignored either.

Joe McHugh - 1 - Honestly the less said about this fellow and his tragic performance around the LC 2020 the better. A complete and utter shambles. It just went to show how many incapable ministers we have at any given time in lower profile positions who generally fly under the radar in normal times but will be completely exposed in more challenging times.

Micheál Martin - 2 - Feels like something from another era with his almost priest-like sermons and invocations of shame around socialising or general enjoyment. His speeches are incredibly dull, uninteresting and I'm not sure how many people are actually listening to him, he has thoroughly lost the country from a leadership sense.

His response to golfgate I felt could have gone stronger. This was a key event which broke the public trust in government and only demotions and suspensions felt like a slap on the wrist more than a leader who wished to send out on a strong message on those in his party who wished to ignore the very guidelines and restrictions they were setting.

His worst moment came from his Merriongate "we move on" attempts to sweep proceedings under the rug. His guidelines were once again undermined by his colleagues in government and he once again had very little to say about it. Another thread of trust snapped between the public and his leadership and this government.

Stephen Donnelly - 0 - He has literally been so poor at his role on health spokesperson and decision maker that various members of NPHET and Tony Holohan have since stepped up to replace him. It was revealing in Richard Chamber's book how Tony and Micheál both have completely lost confidence in him and essentially bypass him at this stage.

Special mention to his trampoline comparison.

Norma Foley - 0 - There's no other word for her than a fraud. She hand picks interviews to attend, vanishes during moments of controversy and appears essentially to be a puppet for whoever her advisors. Her tenure has overseen not learning from her predecessor with another unnecessary LC debacle, the mess around the calculated grades formula and a series negligent actions and comments regarding the spread of covid in schools.

In recent months alone we've seen her directly mislead by quoting misleading statistics to downplay the spread of Covid in schools, she has done nothing regarding HEPA filters and even managed to oversee the removal of contract tracing in schools to ensure more risks for students and teachers.

Catherine Martin - 1 - Ultimately the minister responsible by the sector hit hardest by far by restrictions and she's done little to protect a decimated and apparently wasn't even at the sub-cabinet table until very recently. Imagine being the minister in charge of the entertainment and sports sector but not even being in the room while they were being shut down.

Darragh O'Brien - 1 - Not entirely pandemic related but since it's used as the excuse I'll include him anyway. Placed a priority on delivering affordable homes by the end of the year but allowed Ireland to be the only country in Europe where house building was shut down during the 3rd wave and also allowed that to continue for four months. As a result he delivered 0 affordable houses in 2021 from his target of 6200.

Your being very Generous, Hapless Harris didn't even rate in this article today ,

Very telling that one FG TD who's barely utter a word Covid related gets a mention due a single absurd issue, the Lotto 🙄

Apologies, I actually posted the wrong article , the Two Simons constantly putting their foot in it so to speak , easy to get confused, simple simons as it where. I'm certainly not being disingenuous, I've my opinions, you have yours but your clearly focusing on mine which is curious .

As since explained, incorrect article and incorrect Simon (Coveney) it is a premium article and copying and pasting on this new board's format a nightmare ,covers general performance of ministers, more an opinion piece .

Anyway clearly some on here less than appreciative of any criticism of FG, they'd be horrified at what's written on other less than flattering Threads .

I'm as critical of FF, particularly Stephen Donnelly and especially Norma Foley, both utterly dreadful.

Good Night 😴

No problem. Mistakes can happen.

This was what you said in the original post on the subject though...

Interesting review in today's indo, how was it put again🤔, o yes, Harris put his foot in it again.

So, there was two articles in the Indo today? One where "Simon puts his foot in it" (but relating to Coveney) and another relating to Harris putting his foot in it?

Interesting. Have you a link to this other article? Even if it is behind a paywall?

I'm not sure why you're curious about me quoting you. I think (but could be wrong) that we've only crossed paths once before. All i remember anyhow. Boards is a place of discussion. Is discussion "curious" when two people clearly have different viewpoints?

I know. I despair really. I’m voting for some obscure anti establishment loons the next time. SF are the same as the rest. FG Lab SF SD FF greens etc all the same lefty big state drivel

I don't know why MM hasn't pulled the plug, Leo is constantly going behind his back.

Norma, since she was was appointed she's not made a single decision on her own. She hidden behind public health advice.

Donnelly comes across all wrong there is nobody more important in the world that him.

What should have been done,

Proper contact tracing, it was broken in schools in September 2020

Antigen testing as soon as they are available

Better data science, if you look at the Irish numbers v the rest of the world our are like a saw tooth even after averaging.

No hiding behind GDPR in schools inform parents.

Hope for the best, the vaccine will save us but don't count on it they should have spent on school and HEPA filters, from what I can see from work and friends kids got covid, took it home infected their family while at the same time there rest of the class did the same. So the numbers say out breaks were in homes but the reality is that they started in schools. Windows open in schools means that all kids are run down and catching every bug going,

There's no doubting pretty bad decisions made or in some cases no decisions, just deflection. MM didn't pull the plug for numerous reasons, the Good of the nation Cliché became somewhat farcical early on in this coalition and I completely agree that for some inexplicable reason, Leo attempted to undermine him at every turn, even the most die hard FG supporters must have seen this.

Put simply MM had nowhere to go, his support within FF was rock bottom at the start of this coalition, the Polls suggested (and they've got worse), FF Would be decimated and frankly, his only remaining personal ambition was to be Taoiseach but certainly not be the shortest FF reigning Taoiseach in the history of the state.

I'm neither a FF or FG supporter but actually admire MM"s Resilience, that doesn't mean I think he has good leadership skills. Personally, I thought a few months ago, he'll serve out his term as Taoiseach and retire, now I'm not so sure. FFand FG now ultimately depend on each other to actually survive, depressing as it is, I believe we're stuck with them for the foreseeable future.

It's also fair to say Leo undermined the very coalition he helped form.

Quite possible, I'm thinking that it could well be a SF/SD coalition with few independents getting consessions to behave themselves.

Childish and tiresome response 🙄