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THE TÁNAISTE EAMON Gilmore has delivered his party leader’s address at the Labour national conference in Killarney, Co Kerry tonight.
Gilmore did not outline any new policy initiatives but did hint at the possibility of tax cuts in the remaining lifetime of this government.
In the live televised speech, he told delegates: “I hope we will be able to relieve somewhat the burden of taxation on working people.”
Gilmore acknowledged the difficulties that coalition government has created for Labour and accepted responsibility for the decisions taken. He said that Labour is distinct from Fine Gael but united in seeing through its full term.
Watch: Eamon Gilmore’s entrance
Here is the speech in full:
Tonight, I want to talk about the future.About our future as a people and as a country.
The prospects for our children.
The future for families.
About how we can create more jobs, keep more of our young people at home, and start to bring home those who have left.
About how we can start to have a more positive conversation about where we are going.
But these are still difficult times. Some of the most difficult in the 95 year history of our state. And it is hard to talk, or even think about the future while we are still coping with the present. Juggling all the pressures to make ends meet. Feeling squeezed on all sides. Still trying to claw our way out of the crisis.
The people of this country didn’t cause the crisis, and the Labour Party didn’t cause it either. But 1,000 days ago, when Labour took on the responsibility of Government, this country was broke, and the Government that broke it, was itself broken. They had handed the d eeds of the country to the banks and then they had surrendered the keys to the Troika when the IOUs were called in.
These past few years have been tough and we still have a distance to travel, but for the first time since the crisis began, we can dare to hope again. To face the future and to see a way forward for ourselves, as individuals, as families and as a people.
Before the last election, Fianna Fáil had brought this country to its knees. Today, with Labour, and because of the sacrifices of the Irish people, we are climbing back on our feet again.
We are creating new jobs, 1200 every week! Unemployment is falling. Things are beginning to improve.
And two weeks from tomorrow, on December 15th, we will exit from the EU/IMF bail-out programme.
We are getting back on our feet and now we must step forward to the next stage. Ending the seemingly endless crisis.
At last, we can begin to move on from the day to day struggle for survival, and the week to week search for recovery, to begin again to think about a better future. To start to live again.
It hasn’t been easy. The work of Government sometimes sounds very formal and the language of economics can be cold and remote. But really, when it comes down to the essentials, managing a country is not that much different to managing a home or a business. You cannot spend what you don’t have. You cannot borrow if nobody will lend to you. And anyway you should never borrow too much because it has to be paid back. And when you are short of money you have to make some very difficult choices.
There were times, especially in the early stages, in 2011, when I feared we wouldn’t make it. What happens if a country runs out of money? How, in those circumstances, do you keep the schools and hospitals open, and keep the police on the streets, and how do you persuade the job creators to invest? Believe me, if we had not come to grips with it, this could all have gon e from crisis to disaster.
Labour always believed that the EU/IMF bailout plan agreed by Fianna Fáil was deeply flawed. It was a plan based on debt, not growth. The loans were too expensive, the conditions too onerous, and there was no plan to create jobs. And yet, without those bailout loans, the country had only five months money left. Five months money to pay for pensions, for wages, for hospitals. We had the money to run the schools until the summer, but no money to reopen them that September – unless we took the Troika loans.
When you are in that position, when your country is in that position, things become very clear. You have to decide very quickly what the bottom line is. To me there was only one answer: we had to fix the problem. Ignoring it or prolonging it was not an option. So in everything we had to do, only one thing mattered: fixing the problem. What would make the problem better or worse? Would the decisions we made each day, improve the positio n of the country, or wouldn’t they?
And it was about the country. It was about the future. This was no time to put party advantage before national responsibility. This was a moment of national crisis which required of us to think not about the next election but about the next generation.
Bit by bit, piece by piece, we renegotiated the EU/IMF programme from within. Cutting the cost of the loans, changing the terms and conditions, putting in place a strategy for jobs. Repairing Ireland’s reputation abroad and reconstructing the programme so that it was as fair as it could be. We ended the bank guarantee. We ended the promissory note. And we liquidated Anglo.
And no-one did more to free our country from the shackles of the bailout, than that great servant of Labour, Brendan Howlin.
It could of course have been very different. If Labour had not done what Labour has done, we could all be here tonight, perhaps in the political comfort of opposition, but instead of exiting the bailout, our country would be going into a second one; with workers facing a collapse in their wages; our schools, hospitals and pensioners facing huge cuts in their money and hundreds of thousands of jobs being lost as investors drew away from a failing economy. The future would look very different then as we would be facing a sentence of maybe 20 years austerity, before we could recover.
Not everyone has been happy with some of the decisions we have had to make. I understand that and I accept responsibility for it. But we always knew that this was going to be tough. And it has been.
This is not a Labour government or a Labour-led government. It is a coalition Government.
Labour and Fine Gael are different parties, sometimes with very different approaches and instincts. A lot of our battles have been fought in private and our compromises made in public. That is in the nature of coalition government.
But we are both agreed on the necessity and urgency of recovery and we are both determined to see it through. And we will. And I want to acknowledge, in particular, the pragmatic and honourable approach of the Taoiseach Enda Kenny in all of the work we do together.
The crisis is not all fully fixed yet, but because of the progress we have made, we can now at last begin to look forward to post recession Ireland. And because Labour is the Party of work, the creation of jobs is the first item on our agenda for the future.
Labour has always argued that economic recovery is not just about balancing the budget and getting the deficit down. That of course is important and we are determined to complete that job, but recovery is only real when the unemployed are back at work, when there are new jobs for the young coming out of school and college and new jobs at home for those who have gone abroad. When incomes are growing and people can see a better tomorrow for their children.
In the t hree years before the last General Election, 250.000 jobs were lost under Fianna Fail. 7000 every month for 3 years. We have turned that around, now we are creating 1200 new jobs a week.
But we need to do more, because far too many of our fellow citizens still have no work, or not enough work, or work that doesn’t pay enough to meet the bills.
The Labour Party believes in the right to work, and so we say that this country needs a new target for the future – a target by which to steer our economy with the same determination that we brought to getting out of the bailout – and that target is full employment. Full employment is not something we can achieve overnight, but we can get there, if we work at it today and every day, and plan for tomorrow.
That is why we have included 25 new measures in the recent budget to support job creation, including keeping the reduced VAT for the hospitality sector. That is why we introduced the tax reliefs for home improvements which will lead to more jobs in construction. Which is on top of what we have already done to support jobs through building schools and other public projects, as part of the Stimulus Package announced by Brendan Howlin. We need the construction industry to come back up to a normal level of activity – not to the levels of the boom – but enough to provide homes for those who need them, and jobs for some of the many thousands of building workers who have no work.
To support the drive for jobs, we need investment, so we are creating a 6 billion Euro Strategic Investment Fund to generate more and better jobs.
A future of unemployment or underemployment is no future for our young people. That is why Labour, and Joan Burton in particular, led the initiative at European level to establish the Youth Guarantee, and now we must work to make it a reality so that no young person under 25 will be out of work, or education and training for longer than a few m onths.
We will keep up our efforts to repair the country’s reputation, to grow our trade, and to attract new jobs, because we live in a changing world. And a good Government should anticipate change, and plan for it.
Within a decade, China will be the largest economy in the world, and the centre of economic gravity across the globe will have shifted to emerging markets like Indonesia and Brazil. We have to build up new relationships with those countries, so we can trade with them. And while we often think of Africa in terms of aid, today, five of the world’s ten fastest growing economies are in Africa, countries where Ireland already has deep ties. That is why this month Joe Costello led the first ever Irish Trade mission to Nigeria.
Full employment is our new economic goal, but it’s not about having any old job. We want our people to have good jobs, that can generate a living income. Labour is right to set our face against those who would have us ed the crisis to make Ireland a low wage economy and drive a race to the bottom. We restored the minimum wage, we re-instated the systems that protect wage standards. And we will legislate for collective bargaining rights.
We want people who work hard, to earn enough to be able to support their family, and give their children the best possible start in life. We want to ease the pressure on working families.
We are extending the book rental scheme to help families with the cost of school books, we are giving parents a voice in the cost of school uniforms, and we are extending free GP care to children age 5 and under.
We want to release those people who are trapped under the burden of debt.
We have changed the law to give people better options for dealing with unsustainable debts and mortgage arrears, and the personal insolvency service is now up and running.
And as this economy improves, we want hard pressed families to be able to share in the gain, to be able to aspire again to improved incomes, to advancement and when the country’s finances permit, I hope we will be able to relieve somewhat the burden of taxation on working people.
I am here because I believe in making our country better. I believe in an Ireland that reflects the basic decency of our people. I believe in building a country that offers a fair break for those who want to work hard and provide for their families. That offers opportunity, and the security of knowing that if things go wrong you’re not on your own.
Labour believes that health care is not a commodity to be bought and sold. We believe in Universal Health Insurance because we want the best possible health service for everyone. Free GP care for under 5s is the first instalment of our plan to radically reform the health service, and I want to commend the great work Alex White and Kathleen Lynch are doing in the Department of Health in building up primary care and devel oping community mental health services.
Just like Jan O’Sullivan, who has found the resources to restart the building of social housing, and to clean up ghost estates.
Alan Kelly who is redefining and modernizing public transport. Sean Sherlock who is leading on research and innovation to attract the jobs of the future.
Like Ruairi Quinn, who in the toughest of times has not increased class sizes and who, in less than three years has built 2700 classrooms, replacing cold, damp and expensive prefabs.
For Labour, education is the key that unlocks a positive future for our children – whatever it may hold. Education is about our values. About giving our children a fair start. That is why Ruairi is leading an overhaul of our education system, starting early by getting the basics right, with a renewed focus on literacy and maths. Reforming the Junior Cert to make it more relevant. And with Pat Rabbitte, finding the resources to connect every secon d level school to high speed broadband.
Labour is the party of fairness. So, even in the most difficult of times we have maintained a threshold of decency in welfare, in pensions, in wages. We refuse to stand by while another generation is marked out for long-term unemployment.
So Joan and Ruairi are driving ahead with the Pathways to Work reforms. We have made the tax code fairer, and Ireland now has one of the most progressive tax systems in Europe.
Fairness comes in many forms, and sometimes fairness means coming to terms with the past, so that we can face into the future. That is why, after so many years, we have enshrined the rights of children in our constitution and recognised the wrong done to the Magdalen women.
And it is why this week with Frances Fitzgerald I launched the next phase of the ABC programme, aimed at breaking the cycle of poverty in some of our most disadvantaged communities. Targeting resources to deal with the causes of pover ty in the very earliest years of a child’s life. Because Labour believes in an Ireland where who you are and how far you go should not be confined by where you came from.
Labour has always led on reform. I am proud, that after twenty years, this is the Government that legislated for the X case to make pregnancy safer for Irish women.
But we have to do more. More to make sure today’s Ireland reflects today’s values.
Right now, only one in eight TDs in the Dáil are women. That’s not an Ireland I recognize. That’s why we want to change the face of Irish politics, starting with our new legislation to push political parties towards a minimum threshold of women candidates at the next general election.
And we will build on the pioneering work of the Constitutional Convention – another Labour idea in action – to put the case for the right of gay people to marry to the Irish people. A referendum we will fight, and we will win, in 2015.
For Labour, exiting the Bailout was never an end in itself. It was always the means to an end. The foundation on which we build a more secure future. Secure economically, but also secure on our streets, in our communities and in our families.
That is why this week Alan Shatter will be advertising to recruit new Gardai. And why we are working to preserve the peace in Northern Ireland, to minimise the threat from extremists, and build a more secure peace for all parts of the island. An Ireland at peace will always be safer and more prosperous.
But there are new risks to safety, especially for children. Labour wants an Ireland that really does cherish its children, with time and space for children to be children. To develop and grow up with exciting new technologies but not to be exploited by them or to be exposed to new risks. That is why Pat Rabbitte is launching a new enquiry into internet safety, to find out how we can do more to help parents to protect their c hildren on line.
Labour in Government has made choices, and they were the right choices, because the plan is working. The economy is starting to recover. Jobs are being created. We are climbing back onto our feet again.
But I know there are people, right across this country tonight, who don’t really feel that. People who are living from day to day, and from week to week. Worried about how they’ll cope with an unexpected bill, like if the washing machine breaks down, or someone gets sick. Grandparents who watched the Toyshow last night, and thought of what they might send to the grandchild they can only see on Skype. People who don’t dare to hope, because the future is too frightening. A new generation paying the price of bad politics in hardship and separation.
We cannot go back to the politics of the past.
No going back to Boom and Bert.
No going back to the Ireland run for golden circles; with an economy built on sand
Our people de serve more than that.
Our country deserves better than that.
We have come too far, and we have been through too much.
The progress we have made is due to the hard work and the endurance of the people of this country, and I thank them from the bottom of my heart.
There is again a future.
It is a future that belongs to everyone.
It is a future which has been hard earned by the sacrifices of the people.
It must not be put at risk
Not by any cynic.
Not by any politician
Not by any interest group from whatever quarter.
Let us all determine tonight, not just in this hall, but throughout the country, that we will no longer fear the future.
That we will work together for the future.
That we will hope again. And live again.
Ar aghaidh. Ar aghaidh less an obair. Ar aghaidh leis an lucht oibre.
Thank You.
Watch: Post-speech standing ovation
RIP. Dreadful as always. 156 cases is way too high. Gonna be a long winter lads!
@Gavin Mckenna: wait until we hit flu season.
@Gavin Mckenna: is that useful to anybody?
@Gavin Mckenna: think we are in for higher no.s next Monday or Tuesday. They have tested the highest amount in 1 day last Friday 13000 2% of that will be positive which is in Excess of that gettibg worrying again
@John Egan: it may be
@Gavin Mckenna: useful to me Gavin thanks for acknowledging the way it is instead of this ah it will be grand attitude that is out there.
@padar: naw, if people continue with the guidelines we’ll have very little flu this year. Australia had virtually no flu deaths this year due to their lockdown. They put it down to social distances etc
@John Egan: it’s useful to me as someone who cannot wait for another lockdown.
@Patricia O’Reilly: Yeh i can’t understand how the flu is scaring everyone. Covid is more dangerous and more transmissible and if we have this many cases per day and this many deaths how in the name of God will people catch the flu and need hospitals?
@David Clements: The casedemic continues. 6 in ICU and 20 in hospitals. We now have 1000′s of asymptomatic or mildly ill people with this deadly virus. While 2 people dead is sad the reality is that 85 people die each day of other causes.
@padar: why would there be a flu season? The usual paths for migration of the virus into Ireland and community transmission of the flu are heavily curtailed because of Covid protection measures.
@Sarah Cullen: very few people are with the “ahh it’ll be grand” view. Scaring people is absolutely useless and only triggers more anxiety and fear which makes the problem worse.
@John Egan: Well yes…RIP is being respectful and a long winter in terms of Covid mixed with flus colds etc…Did I actually just explain that to you? Christ.
@Gavin Mckenna: yeah nice one Gavin cheers
@padar: that’s what the flu jab is for .
@PC: good man use a buzz word to make your self seem intelligent. Care to explain the meaning on casedemic seeing it isn’t in the Oxford English Dictionary
@padar: Flu will be gone as we know it.
The only show in town is Covid. All flu deaths will become Covid deaths. Double the numbers.
@John Egan: sorry now. But who are the people that are getting scared and panic. It’s people like you saying such things thats annoying people
@PC: We all know other causes that kill people this has killed over 800,000 people and if the precautions had not been taken and being still followed by sensible people.
It would be a hell of a lot more
@Gavin Mckenna: ah okay, so nothing useful apart from what’s obvious.
@John Egan: I agree with you John its not useful at all. People on here are so depressing, worry about what you can control yourself. Positivity people!!
@padar: Two dead is not a pandemic.
@Gere: your right. But over 23million cases and 790,000 deaths worldwide is.
@Gere: you obviously don’t understand the meaning of the word
@Lou: Lets all be positive about “Two deaths and 156 new cases” if only the journal had a face palm emoji.
@PC: You do go on about the ‘casedemic’ daily. If your benchmark is requiring respiratory assistance through hospital admission, you don’t understand much about levels of illness
@Bountyop: If you don’t require hospitalisation it is no worse than a flu. The workers in the meat factories said that they had no more than a scratchy throat. This is the greatest over reaction in human history to what is no more than a sniffle for the majority of people. And our politicians know the truth too – otherwise they would have been hiding at home instead of partying in Galway. Open your eyes to the evidence – it is scaremongering led by MSM
@John Egan: Oh Johnny…Do enlighten us all with what is not obvious…Good boy….we’re waiting!
@Gary Kearney: Go on life in fear if you want. Unfortunately you appear to be a prisoner of the MSM scaremongering.
@barry moore: https://youtu.be/FU3OibcindQ
@Gavin Mckenna: Don’t know why people have a problem with what you said, facts are facts whether they’re scary or not. Every year we’re told on the news to stay away from hospitals during flu outbreaks due to overcrowding etc. If the numbers of Covid-19 continue on an upward trend then that will obviously make an already bad situation in the hospitals worse during the winter. How anybody can argue against simple logic like that is beyond me.
@Football in the Groin: there’ll be low levels of flu due to lack of trasmission
@Miriam: In theory but nobody knows that for a fact. We won’t know until the time comes.
@Football in the Groin: yep true it’s just a guess
@barry moore: 790,000 deaths out of 8 billion people in the world is not a pandemic, especially when the majority of those deaths were from other causes. Some people love power & others love drama.
@Ger: Do you
@David Clements: Don’t know the situation in Ireland at the moment but according to the ONS (office for national statistics, England and Wales) on the week ending August 7th the total number of deaths from Covid-19 was 152.
The total number of deaths from Flu and pneumonia was 1,013.
@barry moore:
You’re using big numbers that most people are impressed by. In reality, 790,000 is 1/10,000 of the world population. Plus the fact many of those victims would have passed away from other causes soon enough.
@Gere: just under 10,000 dead globally in a day is a pandemic.
@Gere: actually it is. You must suffer from ostrich syndrome.
@Hugh Corcoran: a chemical engineer. Possibly good in his chosen field. Covid 19 is a virus incase you didn’t know.
@Denis Connolly: so your saying just have a global cull of people who have medical conditions or over a certain age
@Gere: Can you list each death by cause please? or not!?
@David Clements: well, the symptoms are initially similar. When flu season hits amidst this pandemic it will be chaotic for hospitals and doctors offices. Both tests will have to be done. People have tested positive for both. Will getting flu make your body more susceptible to COVID? Who knows what the season will bring. As a HCW I am apprehensive about the next 6 months. Just wear masks when within 6 feet of people not in your household. Keep hands away from your face and mask(not easy). Use hand sanitizer. Don’t give in to peer pressure or sarcastic commentary. Keep yourself and your family safe.
@Gavin Mckenna: must have hit a nerve with my original response (was deleted) sry Gavvy.
@Mark: Well done you taking my comment out of context. The doom and gloom can get in on people, id rather be worried about the long term effects of people’s mental health than I would Covid. We only have control over out own actions, the people that arent abiding by the rules aren’t going to suddenly cop on by reading journal comments. We will get through this.
Looking at videos from that protest in Dublin its gonna increase more. Not a mask in sight and no social distancing. An insult to everyone who has being trying their best.
@mark connolly: Were you disappointed to see no masks at the protest against having to wear masks? Lol
@mark connolly: no they are totally right, and I absolutely guarantee you the crowds will get bigger and bigger the more this goes on, people are sick to death at being lied to and to make sacrifices while the elite do what they want
@mark connolly: Well obviously they weren’t wearing Masks. That’s one of the things they were protesting against. Cases have risen a lot since masks were introduced so why would they stop it?
@Jonny: Two wrongs don’t make a right .
@Irene Mc Hugh: If this virus was so deadly the government officials would be a lot more cautious. But they know it’s not…
@Joe Moore: QAnon puppet.
@Jonny: I agree, we are all sick if this, and want it to end, but these protests have just given the government every excuse they need for more restrictions if the numbers keep rising.
@Jonny: how are people being lied to?
Do you doubt people are infected or that people have died from covid, because I have experience with both and it ain’t pretty and it sure as feck isn’t a lie.
Maybe you’d stop with your conspiracy crap if a friend or family member belong to you died from it.
@T Colton: Not exactly lol. Just making they point that they have just given the government all the excuses they need if cases rise more again
@T Colton: yep strange one that
@Jonny: what do mean lied to.
@Joe Moore: sweet suffering Jesus.
@T Colton:
Good man.. Sure the whole situation is great fun….. Enjoy it while you can.
@Jonny: interesting how your argument has changed… Last week it was people just sick of it. Now it’s people are sick of the elite doing what they want? Make up your mind.
@Joe Moore: go talk to a few nurses or doctors or elderly care homes if you are so smart
@Jonny: each person taking their own personal responsibility, and getting on as best they can is the point. Yes be angry at golfgate but that should have zero impact on your own behavior. Everyone is tired of the virus but it ain’t going anywhere any time soon.
@Barry: if you’re at an event where Jim Corr is a speaker you really should wonder about your life choices
@Jonny: they should be round up and locked away for quarantine. Lied to; what a load of nonsense .
@Jonny: Just because politicians act like gobsh*tes doesnt mean that we need to do the same.
@Barry: I agree I think it’s very insulting to cast doubt on people’s personal first hand experiences. I do wonder though, if the statistics are being handled correctly now that the curve has been flattened as planned. Sure we have a rise in cases with all the extra testing – but the seriously ill, hospitalisations and deaths are very low.
@Jonny: muppet, actually total muppet sorry I meant total f..ktard
@Jonny: muppet, actually total muppet sorry I meant total muppet
I totally agree with your comment. Obviously they would prefer to wear a ventilator than a mask. Shame on them
@mark connolly: you including the government in that statement? Or are you just a bot? Or worse a sheep
@Jonny: yes they might end up being “being sick to death” for not wearing masks! Lol
@Jonny: I agree that the do as i say, not as i do mentality of the government is a joke, but sometimes we just have to do the right thing, whether we want to or not. I absolutely hate the masks, the keep going over my eyes, i cant bloody breathe in them because theyre so hot and stuffy, but i will do the right thing and wear them, because this thing is bigger than me and what i think i have the right to do.
Please like my comment
@T Dawg: Done.
The tory government in England are now manipulating COVID19 death figures.
They have introduced an arbitrary 28 cut off point from 1st postive diagnosis.
People there dying of COVID19 after this cut off time are not counted on daily totals and they have also applied it retrospectively slashing 5000 deaths off their total for optics.
Yesterday they claimed 2 people died of COVID19 despite increasing cases on correct inspection of figures without the disgusting cut off applied it was closer to 100.
Many people live beyond 28 days especially now given better therapeutics/management than during the start of the pandemic.
This is China levels of death figure manipulation and Ireland and the EU need to condemn their actions, England is practically a rogue state with this tory government.
@T Dawg: liked and shared
@T Dawg: lol
@T Dawg: As you asked so nicely
@Supes Kz: yes this is situation normal with regards to Tory behaviour- absolutely I’m line with how they behave
@Supes Kz: where is your sources on this info?
There are more cases because there is more testing
@Carol Cunningham: Regular genius we have here. You realise obviously that these people were positive whether tested or not yeah?
@Charlie Kavanagh: They wouldn’t show up in the figures unless they were tested!
@Charlie Kavanagh: she’s been listening to TRump
@Carol Cunningham: Found Trump’s thejournal account.
@Isobel Martin: She is spot on. The detail we need is on the deaths not the cases. Cases is no longer a metric worth looking at, that’s well kniwn at this stage (beyond the HSE/gov circle, or circus may be more appropriate).
@Charlie Kavanagh: you realise if we had the same testing capacity in March/April our numbers would be far higher?
@Carol Cunningham: ok Donald
@John Egan: and?
@Charlie Kavanagh: there are obviously more than the 1.7% of the country who’ve had it. Period. The PCR test also identifies people who have had it as well (from what I’ve read) What I cant get my head around is where the 13000 came from for testing. Do you just pitch up because your want to see if you have our had it. If 13000 people were pitching up with symptoms we’d know about it. Can’t be from contact tracing either. Can anybody shed some light?
@Carol Cunningham: that’s what trump says. Looks bad when we test a lot but it’s a beautiful thing.
@paul mccoy: in fairness trump was saying all this while the deaths were out of control. Ours aren’t now. Different metrics mean different things at different stages of a pandemic. And the level of testing does matter. Blanket testing 500 asymptomatic people in workplaces is very different to testing 500 randomers with coughs and fevers….
@Carol Cunningham: is that Donal Trump you were repeating
@Charlie Kavanagh: wasting your breath Charlie
@Charlie Kavanagh: What? You do realise the more tests you do the more cases you discover? It is estimated 85,000 not 27,000 people had the virus
And if we had tested 100k per week and not 40k we would have discovered more of those 85000 cases
You lack of basic statistical knowledge and the fact you have the most liked comment on this thread concerns me deeply
If I ask 10 people if they like Michael Martin or 10000 you tell me which will have the higher number saying they like him? Obviously 10000
But proportionally it will probably be less people saying they like them as a percentage of those asked versus if you asked 10
Educate yourself!
@Toon Army: of course we need to know the cases… we have to protect the elderly or sick.. if we dont know of cases how in gods name can we protect the vulnerable???? There was outcry from the deaths from nursing homes, the vulnerable were not protected then. this is why we need to know cases!!!
@Paul Moran: they test everyone linked to an outbreak, so whole factories and the like
@Charlie Kavanagh: yeh but what were the figures before we started properly testing for covid
@Charlie Kavanagh: eh obviously but they were not included in the numbers if they weren’t tested duh!!!
@Charlie Kavanagh: Yes but people are reacting to numbers of confirmed cases, Einstein! So what Carol is pointing out is what the hell does it matter if you double the testing you double the cases and everyone flips! Deaths are the stat that counts here. At the moment = very low!
@Miriam: People are dying catching it from asymptomatic patients. The more of those cases found and isolated the less people will die. Deaths are a lagging indicator of cases. Cases do matter … todays cases and those they spread it to will (in some small percentage) be deaths in 2 or 3 weeks. The number of cases also gives people an idea of how much is out in the community… that’s why they are “flipping”…
@Gordon Walsh: I totally understand that but what I’m asking is if there are 200 (say) test positive today how do they get to 13000 pitching up for testing say on Tuesday? R number would need to be off the Richter scale? Only 200 or so have been notified through the app and I’m assuming you still need an appointment.
And the far right March in Dublin against face masks.
@Sean Dempsey: goons
@Sean Dempsey: not that you’d wish this horrible disease on anyone, but it would be good to prove how contagious it is with these groups of goons. Fortunately for them, everyone else had cop on and are ironically protecting their health from their own idiocracy
@Brynþór Patrekursson: well Luke O’Neill said in May that the risk of the virus spreading from protests was very low. He said this when questioned about the danger of a spike following the BLM protest which had 5000 attendees. None of those wearing masks either as at the time we were told masks weren’t necessary
@Brynþór Patrekursson: https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=488&v=sjYvitCeMPc&feature=emb_logo
@Dearbhla Othey were saying not to wear masks if you look at the speakers they were shouting at people to get off the steps and move out if they think they don’t need protection why were they so keen not too have too many people beside them
@Anna Anna: well said
@Anna Anna: Sorry Anna, look back at the pictures of the BLM protest on June 6th. 80+% usage of masks from the pictures.
Lower than I thought it would be, however we need to start seeing percentages.
Number of people tested.
Number of people positive.
Percentage of infection.
@Sequoia: the reason for the high numbers is we are testing loads more
@Sequoia: all available on the HSE website, updated every day, it’s there for everyone to read, usually updated around 6.30 or 7 each evening
@Sequoia: around 13000 tested so 1.2% positive very little really.
@padar: You do know that those cases exist regardless of whether we test or not, yeah?
@Séamus Heffernan: Yep like all the cases of influenza that are there in the summer also – you test for any virus and you’ll find it.
@Sequoia: completely agree, this is turning into a complete farce,you have a section of society that just seem to want this to be bad and any number over a hundred is vindication for locking down everything,when I’d like to see how many people got let’s say the flu today and how many had the flu virus in there system when they passed away
@Michael McGrath: 13k tested on friday. 57670 tested over the last 7 days. Positive results account for 1.3%. It was showing as 1.2 earlier today but has since been updated to 1.3. Two weeks ago the rate was 1.7%
@Séamus Heffernan: yes OMG we know. The point is when the “numbers” are published everyone flips like there’s been a big spike. When testing has just increased. The deaths are still very low!!! Ugh this is hard work
@Anna Anna: well give or take we are in agreement so
Time to lock down Dublin
@thomas: no
@thomas: Wouldn’t be adhered to.
@thomas: why? Per head of population Dublin has one of the lowest rates in the country at the moment
Not. Great. Anyone for 18 holes and a chicken dinner?
@Rochey77: then back to Donnie Cassidys hotels to riddle the place!
Open the pubs
@Buzz O Sullivan: restart essential medical services
@Buzz O Sullivan: why would you want to open up sales of a gateway drugs
@Kevin50: will someone please think of the children!!!!!
My deepest sympathy to the families
Journal deleting comments for no reason, no such thing as free speech here eh
@Jonny: it’s gone ridiculous pal. It’s all one big joke right now. Six people in ICU the last two months and most people asymptomatic.
@Jonny: Ireland does not have free speech. Read the terms and conditions before giving out.
@Joe Moore: Are you using that stat to imply that COVID isn’t a big deal?
@Joe Moore: luckily I’m not foolish enough to believe the stats you came out with. There’s 6 people in ICU today – not the total figure for two months. There was 11 in ICU on the 4th of July. You’re some spoofer.
@Tadhg: ICU numbers have been between 4 and 8 for the last 4 weeks ie. stable. Despite our Health Minister saying they had doubled over the weekend only a few days ago, when in fact they hadn’t changed from the figure of 8. Now we are at 6 again
@Jonny: Ireland does not use the US Constitution…so the first does not apply. And even if it did, that’s still not how it works.
Ah jaysus
@Frank Discussion: open the pubs ?
I was just wondering how many people have died in Ireland because of Coronavirus specifically, as opposed to having Coronavirus and dying due to cancer or a heart attack or old age or whatever.
@Seán O’Loughlin: approximately 1300
@Seán O’Loughlin: Do you think dying of “old age” is a real thing? Everyone dies of something regardless of age…
No one takes NPHET /Coalition Government seriously anymore
@Jonny: speak for yourself
@Olivia Smith: Actually he’s right. Very hard to have any confidence after the debacle of this week.
@Frances Casey: It’s not NPHET’s fault when people especially politicians don’t follow their public health guidelines!
@Jonny: I take NPHET’S guidelines seriously.
@Frances Casey: Frances, he said “nobody” takes them seriously. Olivia replied implying that she does. I would this conclude that he is actually wrong. Has basic logic neglected you?
@Frances Casey: like I already said speak for yourself, not every person is carrying on like a petulant child. I’d rather listen to people on NPHET than cookoo fools one the journal rising up against so-called oppression. If you have someone you live who could die get a grip and stop throwing the toys out of the pram.
@EnKy: I’d say cop on has to be fair.
@Olivia Smith: I have relations in this category. But unlike you I know what happens to people in the autumn years of life. They DIE. And we all end up dead in the end. This virus changes nothing – it mostly wiped out our most vulnerable in old folks homes who were already at deaths door.
@Olivia Smith: Olivia you full of fear. Did you know if you don’t follow the regulations religiously the devil will visit you and punish you. It’s written in the great book of Moses!
@PC: You’re hilarious PC! Will you still be telling such crackers when you get COVID yourself?
@Nuala Mc Namara: your in the minority so
@PC: You absolute gowl. Do one.
@PC: Really ? I don’t read fiction. What do you see when you look in a mirror? I’d imagine it frightens the life out of you. And your not even funny. Don’t give up the day job.
Open the Dáil
@Pat Andrews: Open the Dáil bar.
@ruairi: not much sense in that. The Dail isn’t sitting the beer will have gone off.
The calm before the storm , let’s here what dopey Donnelly has to say , maybe he has trampolines on his mind , as I head in on the frontline tonight with 13,hour shift ahead a tsunami is on the way with the onset of winter
It’s really not as bad as people seem to think it is. We were always going to see a rise in cases like this when reopening the country.
We have to keep moving forward.
And for goodness sake, wear a bloody mask!
They’ll be no santy this year!
@Jeremiah A Craic: Free Santy! Free Kildare! Free Donie Cassidy’s wig!
@Jeremiah A Craic: he didn’t make it through the first wave of covid I’m afraid… no more santy
@Mark O’Donohoe: Sadly he was in too many risk categories, overweight and well over 70. It was coming I’m afraid.
@Jeremiah A Craic: No sanity anyway… I’ve lost my marbles
@Seán O’Loughlin: yep,,its the sanity clause.
Condolences to the bereaved families and friends of the deceased. May they rest in peace.
At this stage I think we can say things are out of control!
@Seán O Ciara BA/ PDE: I actually think the opposite
It’s nice to see the masks are working well….
@Joe Moore: what are you expecting when half the population dont wear them
@Quiggers: or wear them properly
@Quiggers: Everyone is wearing them. Where have you been…
@Joe Moore: The madks are a precationary measure and not a gurantee…. What biggles the mind, is they should have been mandatory everywhere at the height of it… Also dont forget alot of people cannot wear them due to underlying issues.
@Mark: Denmark doing just fine without masks
The positivity rate per test 1.2%
That is if memory serves very similar to what it was when we had this pandemic “under control”
Granted increased testing is as a result of increased spread bug it’s likely we are squeezing every last case out of every outbreak giving the perception things are worse than they are
Remain calm
Keep the basic practices going
And above all else don’t accept contradictory restrictions for granted
Never mind Kildare , we need to lock down Dublin ..
@Patricia O’Reilly: Dublin should be locked down but we all know that’ll never happen
@Ann-Marie: it’s cases per 100000 that’s important but your mind probably can’t process that basic information.
@IRL77: She has a major Dublin envy issue,
@Gary Kearney: I don’t blame her….the country and western show that’s going on at the moment makes me thank the lord that I don’t do staycations….couldn’t stomach giving that lot any of my hard earned money.
@Gary Kearney: Couldn’t be more wrong!!!
@IRL77: Cases don’t matter. It’s the sick that count. 1 or 2 per day dead at most whole 85 other people die of cancer, heart disease etc. This pandemic will be proven to be the greatest hoax in human history.
@Ann-Marie: you obviously haven’t been to Dublin lately. City Centre is so quiet. Everyday here is like a Sunday. The vast majority are staying home and staying safe !
The most Covid 19 restrictions in Europe and we are well on our way to have the worst figures in Europe
@patrick o keeffe: Look at the daily increase in numbers for the last week. We got the numbers down fast and there was always going to be another wave and another after that.
Our numbers are good when measures correctly.
@Gary Kearney: Here’s another covid 19 ‘expert’. Listen and learn people
They could announce a thousand cases a day and it wouldn’t make any difference, there’s one law for the elite in Ireland and one law for everyone else, even the most vocal FFG supporter will quietly admit this, NPHET /Coalition Government are in effect not to be trusted whatsoever under any circumstances, lies after lies, mass confusion, constant chopping and changing their minds about restrictions, nonsensical rubbish, some people who are gullible will believe everything they say, but I think it’s safe to say the majority do not and will not take these charlatans seriously anymore.
@Jonny: What lies?
@LangerDan: what planet have you been living on recently, or are you a FFG apologist
@LangerDan: What lies? Are you actually that niave?? It’s laughable…
Still no evidence of lies. Come on lads. Post some lies.
@Jonny: what lies are you on about pal?
@GrumpyAulFella: ah here ffs are you seriously that niave
@Jonny: You’re full of it. Now is your opportunity to back up your claims yet the entire site can see you ignore requests for evidence.
@Jonny: needs toilet paper his mouth
@LangerDan: seriously are you really that niave or stupid or an FFG apologist to think that this shambles of a government are not telling the truth and you probably believe they are doing a good job, I actually despair for people like you lol
@Jonny: What is the ‘truth’ then?
@Jonny: I think they can do a better job. That still doesn’t let you away with the fact that you are accusing them of lies. You have had ample opportunities to back that up here. Go on, prove me wrong. I’ll concede if you even give one confirmed example of a deliberate lie.
@LangerDan: they’ve lied about covid deaths amongst other things and fkup knows what else the general public don’t know about, but by all means continue to believe the nonsense they are coming out with
@LangerDan: why aren’t you outraged by these charlatans like most people are, are you a FFG apologist or something, do you seriously trust nphet /Coalition Government because at this stage most don’t.
@Jonny: How have they lied? I don’t want your opinion. I want evidence that disproves what they have said. Just one example backed with evidence. You’re a busted flush at this stage.
@Jonny: I am annoyed with them. Especially over Galway. I also think they’ve made a mess of the opening up. I think they made terrible mistakes early on re the nursing homes.
However, I don’t believe they are acting as part of a conspiracy and I have not seen any actual lies on their part. So I’m asking you yet again to post evidence of lies.
@LangerDan: I’m thinking your wasting your time asking for evidence. As you can see all people like that can do is hurl insults and make accusations but are always unable to back up there argument with evidence.
@barry moore: Absolutely. And I know full well I won’t get any evidence. But so many people believe their crap, I thought it would be good to lay bare their own lies before the commentariat.
@barry moore: any eejit can spout nonsense from the sidelines
@Jonny: Have you noticed by chance that the entire world has the same pandemic. That most countries are following the same pattern of response as we are.
This has noting to do with politics, it is a virus and it will kill FG, FF, SF or anybody else.
it shows fear nor favour.
@Jonny: Nphet are the experts on the issue, do you trust your doctor or do you go onto a forum and ask questions and decide your doctor is wrong.
Trust this government, I don’t trust any government Nphet I do trust as they are experts in the field and don’t have anything to gain from what they are doing.
Covid-19 can infect anybody Mary Lou and boris johnson got it. So it is a nonpolitical virus
@jackamy: that is true. This country will manage perfectly well without them
@Jonny: I will make allowances for you. Obviously public health is a science in its self.
@LangerDan: totally agree with you. Theres plenty of things the government could have done better, and things they have made a balls of. But its not to say there is some conspiracy afoot. Everytime i see these nonsense ‘casedemic plandemic scamdemic conspiracy lies’ comments i just dont understand ppl that choose to believe this. Why would they lie? To what end? What would the benefit of this conspiracy be? Did all the world leaders get together in a secret meeting and come up with a global lets f$&k the world policy? Have a good look at our government, they are quite happy to con us on many thing without the need to hide it i wouldnt have much faith in them being able to manage an actual conspiracy
@LangerDan: I’ve told you already they lied about deaths attributed to Covid-19, saying there was 13% more deaths than what there actually was from March to June, they tried to say this was a “mistake” how can this possibly be a mistake eh, so this alone is enough, and if your so gullible enough to actually believe they are telling the public the whole truth I fear for you and anyone else who believes their bulls**t.
@Jonny: the difference in numbers you are talking about is because there was a change in how to count deaths. The vast majority are covid positive deaths but as per the guidelines at the time people who died and were suspected covid cases were also included when the guidelines changed some doctors didn’t know about the new guidelines. Hence why they are now looking back and removing deaths from the total. What other lies are the government telling us. Feel free to provide links to these.
Jesus thats very high we need to go back into lockdown this is getting out of hand
@kennyjones27: why, because it’s not resulting in cases in hospital, and deaths are steady? You go into hiding of you like.
@kennyjones27: Can’t afford it. Q2 GDP estimated figures are 16.8% down. This PUP money doesn’t grow on magic trees.
@kennyjones27: and then what? Open up when the numbers are low again? Then lock down again when the numbers get too high? Whats the point in that endless cycle for nothing? This virus is here to stay. No amount of locking down is going to change that.
Open the lunch boxes. Free the fun size bounty bars.
@J: Paper bags requested in some schools. Lunch boxes are so yesterday.
And f@t Hogan still thinks he’s right to attend golf dinners!!!
40 cases in schools in Berlin, it is going to be a long winter
@Brendan O’Donoghue: it’s cases in 40 schools
@jackamy: did you say that Jack had a trial for Liverpool…..no he was on trial in Liverpool!
On the rise! Schools next
I am just here for the comments
Ffs. Deaths are never nice to see. Are we seeing more new cases due to more testing or are we in a spiral of clusters appearing. I don’t know what to believe anymore. COVID. F off
@Declan Martin Rigney: Well there are definitely a lot more infections in the country now than a month ago due to clusters and close contacts, however testing has been ramped up massively too. They are the factors leading to the large number of daily cases lately.
There’s no point in arguing, the wearing of masks are needed (always were), social distancing, hygiene etc need to be adhered to. This is especially the case after seeing what has happened with the opening of schools in Germany.
@Thisguy: Here’s another covid 19 ‘expert’. Listen and learn people
@Jonny: Another “Anti Everything” Head spouting warped nonsense. Give it a rest! 2 people have died, show some respect!
As much as I hate to say it gyms need to be shit down was in the gym recently no social distancing and very little sanitizers around , nobody wiping down machines and staff turning a blind eye , WHAT IS THE POINT ???
@Wiggy Wigsters Fitness: Did you complain?
@Cian – Wash your: yes he did. On the journal..
@Wiggy Wigsters Fitness: has there been cases linked to gyms? I’ve not heard of any
@Wiggy Wigsters Fitness: The original name of the venue that is currently called the 3 arena
@Wiggy Wigsters Fitness: s@h€tt1ng in the gym isn’t on.
@David Clements: lol
@Wiggy Wigsters Fitness: Nobody made you go. If your so frightened of the virus what were you doing going to a sweaty gym! Stay at home and get fat if you want but stop sh*tting on the gym that others want to use. Unless your over 70 with serious underlying conditions Covid is not a serious threat to you. If you don’t believe me ask Dara, Big Phil or Sean O’Rourke! Covid won’t get you but watch out for heartdisease as you hide under your bed listening to the 24/7 fear propaganda spouted by RTE.
Open the pubs
It would be good if at least the government took this seriously.
Get the elite of the country to read today’s stats, golf is much to important , how do you get people to do the right thing, when politicians, judges, media reps and of course big Phill Hogan that would not give two Fu-ks about anyone.
I keep thinking of Saddam Hussain in South Park screaming ‘Ahh you guys are all pretty f%$#*d now’
Kildare in lockdown.. Laughable. Drive through newbridge today and too 40mins. Shops are jammed
Eh they’re not in lockdown. Shops are open. And good to see people supporting local business in a very tough time…
@David Clements:
There are Lock down Restrictions in Kildare!!!
@Joe Toner: but it’s not on lockdown
Shops are open etc. They’re not allowed leave the county or eat out but to complain that the shops in kildare are busy misses the point.
@David Clements: as long as they obey the distancing and mask wearing rules..
Open the pubs, especially for the golf dinners.
The milky bars are on me
Lock Dublin down it’s as bad as Kildare
Once Fianna Fail got their grubby hands on power again, it’s been a steady decline.
@The Irish Bull: Their equal partners in Government Fine Gael are equally to blame.
I am happy to see people wearing masks. Its easy to see who cannot see the totalitarian programming right in gront of their nose. The bigger the lie the longer the nose grows, pinoccio.
@Thomas McGrath: true. Easier to spot the independent thinkers, which is always helpful
@Thomas McGrath: would you be willing to catch Covid?
Face masks are mandatory in most autonomous communities in spain, with strict policing and on the spot fines from what i seen in Madrid last week, yet the cases continue to rise there.. makes me wonder how
@David Lee: Masks don’t work in a community setting. In fact they can increase the spread by generating a false sense of security
@David Lee: and Denmark and sweden are doing just fine without them
@PC: Here’s another covid 19 ‘expert’. Listen and learn people
@Anna Anna: not true
Hopefully these people start wearing t-shirts or badges So that I can cross the street when I see one coming.
@Gareth Murran: Which people the Jews, The Blacks, The Refugees or the Irish in England?
and Covidiots stay in Dublin at protest, and for what ???… Why not for Housing maffia, Insurance Maffia and all in…. Wff protest for a mask???? Covidiotism is not curable !
@margarita: Says you the big lockclown, hiding in your bunker, wearing a mask, for a disease with a median age of death of 84.
Lock the country down
@Madra: Guaranteed your wages regardless Madra?
@Madra: Can’t afford it. Q2 GDP estimated figures are 16.8% down. This PUP money doesn’t grow on magic trees.
Where is the proof of any of this
Why isn’t Dublin in lock down, if the figures are so high,?
@barry moore:
You’re using big numbers that most people are impressed by. In reality, 790,000 is 1/10,000 of the world population. Plus the fact many of those victims would have passed away from other causes soon enough.
Too many hysterical people on these forums.
@Denis Connolly: good idea we just have a global cull of people who have under lying medical conditions and people over a certain age. At what age should it start?
@Denis Connolly: Here’s another covid 19 ‘expert’. Listen and learn people
Another lockdown is inevitable today’s figures are seriously concerning just wait until the Schools re-open next week.
we went through the last wave… so its now a chance to get orginised and be ready for a hard winter, you should all have face coverings, gloves… alcohol wipes etc..
Sick to death of it all
DIED WITH Covid.. Not FROM it.
Why is Dublin in lockdown they have the most cases
Just out of curiosity,how many cancer diagnosis were made today
Very little cases at all in the west. That tells me there’s something killing the virus on the Atlantic Ocean. Lots of cases in the US so is it the gales/storms that’s killing the virus?
How many people were diagnosed with cancer today,just wondering
How stup!d..
@Seriousnojoke: top class point
Id prefer to hear more stats on numbers needing hospital treatment and icu admission etc
Id prefer to hear more stats on numbers needing hospital treatment and icu admission etc.
I would prefer to hear more stats on numbers needing hospital treatment and icu admission etc.
Your doing a great job sir
have your say