Relaxation of Restrictions, Part XII *Read OP For Mod Warnings*

TBH the Martin comment looked more like a response to a question from a journalist than policy although his mindset on this would have him very much in favour of it on safety grounds.

Martin is weak and risk-averse. He's also in an age group that are statistically more vulnerable to Covid and his attitude to it has been shaped by the tragic deaths of 2 of his children

Per a recent IT article:

Mr Martin said the experience of losing two children has shaped him as a person and he believes that throughout the pandemic the “number one priority [is] to prevent people from dying”.

He said the overall aim “to prevent as many people as possible from dying, as many people as possible from becoming severely ill – that has to be still, in the society we live in, the number one metric”.

Mr Martin said he has noticed language around Covid slipping to “how many deaths can we tolerate” almost, but for him it is still about “preventing death and preventing severe illnesses”.

https://www.irishtimes.com/news/ireland/irish-news/taoiseach-speaks-about-how-the-death-of-his-two-children-has-shaped-him-as-a-person-1.4759140

Now, I have every sympathy for his loss and the impact it had on him and his family. It's not something any parent should have to go through and as a parent myself, I can't imagine the pain.

But, there's a wider impact on society and families, business and industry, and the economy and future of the country as a whole to consider here. His last comment above highlights why we are still taking a hyper cautious approach to the response, and he's letting his personal loss (albeit understandably) influence the decisions he's making for the country.

As Taoiseach he needs to consider all of those other elements as well, and it would seem that he can't do this objectively (again understandably), which is why NPHET are making the majority of the decisions largely unchallenged. The obvious issue with that (Tony Holohan himself aside) is that their remit and scope does not include consideration of the wider social, economic and political impact.

Governments are there to govern, and leaders to lead, but he has completely abdicated that responsibility to Holohan and Co, and because the legacy of Bertie, Enda and Leo has left us with an increasingly divided parliament where FF/FG are more concerned with holding on to their dwindling power than anything else, we effectively have had 2 Governments largely on autopilot, tinkering at the edges, but without making the fundamental changes this country needs.

With Covid they've jumped on the ability to further kick that can down the road at every stage, regardless of the impact (now and in the future) this will have on the nation and those who live and work here, and who ultimately will be the ones paying for it in both economic and social terms for decades to come.

When they say they have no plans for something, they definitely have plans for something.

There is also the fact that MM is very likely to retire soon on his mega pension that will never be under threat. He doesn't have to worry about any future repercussions because he'll have a guaranteed pension and some tidy little speaking gigs to keep him ticking over.

Then we have to consider the fact that he has never been able to make a decision without 10 reports to recommend the recommendations.

We really ended up with the worst possible person at the helm for some of the more crucial parts of the pandemic. If, as is fairly clear now, nphet are the decision makers of how and when we start to lift restrictions then my original prediction of a March date for the severe restrictions to end may have been extremely optimistic.

I'm pretty sure Donnelly mentioned that Tony gave that his blessing as well.

Only a fool would use GDP as a measure of Ireland's economic performance.

In this instance I'd see it as the independent cutting through the bullsh*t (not like them)

People will just stop reporting their positive antigen and not a get a PCR.

I'm not one who views his personal loss as being a strong influence on this. I don't doubt it has come to the forefront of his mind, just as rest of the population has had a lot of time to reflect and think about things.

His problem is and always has been his political performance. If you look back over his track record he really hasn't achieved very much at all and the smoking ban is all he delivered in Health. During the crisis of 2008-2014 he managed to hide away in the DFA, generally a fairly handy number. By all accounts he's a very nice man and is not one you want to go up against in debate but that's really the extent of it. Even so it's not entirely his own fault, as the talent surrounding him in the party is pretty average and this coalition arrangement has made him look just a little better by having access to what's in the other two parties.

He is as you say a ditherer and very risk-averse. Each of our previous Taoisigh had something going for them. Bertie had street smarts, Cowan was scrappy, Kenny earnest, well-meaning but tough and Leo is more of a crowd pleaser but can get things done.   

Exactly. A lot of people will just view going for a PCR as an added hassle, especially if it means they can't get boosted. There's no real incentive unless you need PCR validation for benefits etc..

There is also the problem that you can't get a PCR test. I understand that some people may need a PCR test to get a covid cert, for work or for hospital/GP appointments but anyone that doesn't need a PCR test for those reasons really shouldn't be getting one, if the antigen is positive just do the isolation and leave the PCR testing to people that really need it.

Some appropriate adds from Boards while we are discussing mice😂

Look up an app called AdGuard if on Android. Thank me later 😊

He’s a weak leader of a weak party with absolutely no talent coming through.

And those of us looking to get on with our lives are paying the price for that.