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JUST 4,121 CALLS were made to check in with more than 60,000 passengers who arrived through Dublin Airport in the first two weeks of July.
Only around half of those calls were answered. According to figures released by the Department of Justice to co-leader of the Social Democrats Róisín Shortall, some 61,844 passengers arrived in the airport from 1 July to 15 July.
The Border Management Unit (BMU) made 4,121 calls and 2,129 of those calls were answered.
Justice Minister Helen McEntee in her response to Shortall’s parliamentary question said given the increase in passenger numbers recently, the BMU is “required to concentrate on their core immigration duties”.
She said her department awaits handover of this follow-up process to the Department of Health.
The Taoiseach has recently said the government is not happy with the level of follow-up in relation to these forms.
He announced plans to step up monitoring and enforcement including digitising the passenger locator form and creating a centralised database for people entering via ports and airports. He also said a new call centre is also to be established to check in with those people who arrive to Ireland.
Speaking to RTÉ’s Today with Sarah McInerney this morning, Shortall said the figures were “shocking”.
What they indicate is that there are little or no controls in terms of people travelling to this country, very often from countries that have very high levels of the coronavirus. The talk from government about putting in place regulations and controls at our ports and airports simply ring hollow when you look at the figures.
She said the Department of Justice clearly does not “want to be doing it” and is waiting to hand the task over to health officials.
Shortall said this is “a very real danger” and accused the government of being “asleep at the wheel”.
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Thousands upon thousands of peope travelled in and out of this country in june and July, so where all all the hundreds of cases that we are meant to be getting? The fact is that if we didn’t have as many cases in nursing homes and amongst our healthcare workers, then the country would probably be fully open by now. The government dropped the ball and are now using travel as a diversion tactic to take the attention off their bad mismanagement. Imo.
@TBPOF: The fact is that this is a nonsensical rant from someone who doesn’t understand the situation very well.
@JusticeForJoe: he understands it very well .
@JusticeForJoe: what have I said that is incorrect. 96,000 people flew into this country last month. Where are all the cases? The nursing homes were a disaster and we had the highest rate of infection amongst healthcare workers in the world. Even if you halved both those numbers we would probably be fully reopen, like the rest of europe is now. But the government dropped the ball, and we remain closed. They need a scapegoat and travel is it.
@TBPOF: you havnt got a clue. Just hope you dont catch it off anyone who travelled and was positive. I know a few people who have caught covid-19 and it is nasty.
@Daniel Andrews: haven’t a clue yet nobody can point out to me what I’m saying wrong.
@TBPOF: Noise, regurgitation and no substance, this The Journal way
@JusticeForJoe: the fact is your a bot.
@TBPOF: agree with you in terms of travel. I think they’re just overly conservative. SF are ranting about travel and it seems like every commentator on the Journal is scared silly of Covid.
Don’t agree with you about if we had fewer cases amongst healthcare staff.
The green list has shown us that we are currently one of the best performing countries in the EU. I just think other EU countries have balls!
@TBPOF: the fact is there was a point when there was no Covid 19 in this country. Then someone brought it into the country now 1754 people are dead.
It’s not about the clusters in the country it’s about keeping them out.
Which we’re not even trying to apparently and you think we shouldn’t.
@Davis Payne: by that regard then people from Dublin ( 12,000+ cases ) shouldn’t be aloud travel to mayo ( less than 600 cases ) for a holiday. What is the difference?
@Daniel Andrews: you havnt a clue he showed the figures to explain the cases are not coming from travel, travel within Europe is safe
@Daniel Andrews: and I know a good few who tested positive (8 to be exact) and none were really sick at all. Included in that is a travelling part of 5 of which I was one. All 5 positive, all really really minor symptoms. Your ‘few’ must have been really unlucky.
@TBPOF: oh for the love of… stop saying “the fact is”. I mean in your original post you followed it up “if x, then probably y”
That’s not a fact. Stop saying things are facts when they’re clearly not. Also I’m not a bot so that wasn’t a fact either.
You’re just another one of those “Hear ye, Hear ya! Everyone listen to what I decree” lads, despite not knowing much about what you’re saying.
Sorry about the typos but my point still stands
@JusticeForJoe: your a bot….. that is a fact.
@TBPOF: Knew it. Literally nothing going on up there
@TBPOF: Get a handle on your spelling and grammar before ya tackle epidemiology.
Armchair experts like you are all the same.
@TBPOF: I want you to be right. Our testing rates and results delays may be a factor. Asymptomatic may not show for some time…
But as someone travelling to Italy next week, I’m with you on this.
@TBPOF: there have been hundreds of cases. What are you talking about? You do realise that the number of detected case is not the number of actual cases? Taking the Thomas Puyeo epidemiology modelling used for Covid-19 , I would estimate it is 4 x times higher in Ireland than the ‘confirmed cases’.
Community and household spread is also seeded by travel elated cases in an otherwise clear population after months of lock down.
58,000 odd people unaccounted for, and just one of them could start the cycle of run away infection. The mind boggles. There are plenty of students and un employed that could be hired to follow up on this. All they need is a questionnaire and guidance on what to do.
What did they expect?
So they call you on your mobile!
“ are you staying at the address you gave ?”
“ Yes”
“ ah grand”
“ is that the sound of wind and waves?”
“ No , the back doors open and I’m boiling the kettle”
“ ah, grand, good luck”
@Dave Phelan: that’s the way we do it here man
So today we have been told that the tracing app has major privacy issues, even though we were told its perfectly safe and transparent and now we are told this. Looks like the Government and HSE are really dropping the ball here, but yet we still have people patiently waiting till 6 o clock every evening to listen to these same experts tell us the world is ending again, what to do, and who to blame this week.
Looks like all common sense is gone form the world, its crazy !!!
@Thornto84: Android app is not private. Android has no privacy at all, so no surprise. Apple is better but not great as some of the dames holes exist if you use a google/facebook type app. The US is watching your every move and then calling out the Chinese for doing the same (but not as well).
@Thornto84: where can I read this? I haven’t downloaded it yet for this reason
@Thornto84: agree with you . Crazy
@Irish Nomad: Its few stories down on the journal, wont let me post the link
@Thornto84: people complaining about privacy issues on the covid app is funny, considering the majority of these people are probably putting up on Facebook and Instagram what they had for their breakfast!!! God forbid they might do something to help with a health crisis.
@mary maguire: Thats fair point but when you have the HSE tell you this when it was released;
“In line with data protection law, the processing of data will be limited to this stated purpose. All personal data that is processed is kept to an absolute minimum.
Users can choose to delete the app at any time and have full control over what information they share through the app.” – direct quote from a journal article.
Its the misleading information being put out there.
Have to question what else have they been misleading people on like the reporting of death figures, but god forbid anyone question these glorious leaders, everyone should stay at home and await further instructions !!
@Thornto84: NO, you were NOT told the tracing app has privacy issues… you were told, than Google … again, I repeat, GOOGLE developed an API to provide an interface to exposure notification allowing governments etc to develop tracing apps which would allow Google/Apple to do all the heavy lifting so to speak, maintaining a level of privacy as the app itself does not have, seek or use anything like bluetooth, gps, location services etc
What you heard was that the API developed by google, *can* (not to be confused with does) access location services as Android requires location services in parallel with bluetooth in order for OTHER unrelated apps to use bluetooth for finer tracking, for example shopping centre maps etc…. So the Google developed API having potential access to location is where the privacy lies. It has nothing, zero, absolutely FA to do with how the HSE app was designed as the flaw is in the Google API
If anyone has any issues with the HSE app, as yourself a few basic questions, first being, do you want to help get rid of this virus or not? If you do, you need to help, not shout and moan from the sidelines
2nd, if you don’t feel comfortable trusting the HSE app because of privacy, I would strongly, strongly recommend you remove amazon, FB, twitter, tik tok and every other social media app from your phone
@Life in no motion: P.S I’m no fan of Leo’s FG or this new sham of a FFGGG-BLT or whatever anagram you like…. but the HSE put together an app that’s open source, the code is available for anyone to review, check, examine
Plus, this app has gotten international recognition from other countries on how an app should be developed and has even been donated as an open source project for any country to re-use if they wish
The HSE are far far from perfect but I can’t fault them on this, it’s a really well designed app which will be a major help in reducing the spread of the virus and anything that will help us get out of lockdown safer and quicker is just a no brainer
Look with your eyes, not with your ears
@Thornto84: maybe our government should have taken the same approach as Trump and the Brazilian President! Maybe you would be happy then because then you would have something to complain about!!!
@Life in no motion: Nice rational response there you’re the perfect example do not question anything and do what you are told to “get rid of the virus”.
So if i understand, by your logic these tracing apps that are so important are build on flawed platform ?
I not questioning the what the app is used for I’m questioning the fact that we are being misinformed.
One last thing how do you plan on getting rid of the virus ? Keep yourself locked away is it ? From what I can see we have to learn to live with it.
@mary maguire: Another logical response there 6 pm cant come fast enough for you. But you’re completely missing the point of what I’m saying, you’re allowed to think for yourself and question some of the things that have happened over that last 6 months and not wait to be told what to do. Believe it or not there are other opinions out there.
@Thornto84: what’s happening at 6 o’clock??? I have an opinion too!!
@Thornto84: Maybe they could microchip everybody (like they do with dogs) and then control our movements from a bunker under the Dail.
@Gene O’Keeffe: Shhh don’t give them ideas, people here will be calling for that next
@mary maguire: there’s a big difference between knowingly giving and volunteering your private information and not being told that information is being collected by a product or service that was declared anonymous and securely private
@Simon Carroll: yeah your right there is a big difference between knowingly putting useless private information about your breakfast and giving information that might help out in a global health crisis!!
Government crossing their fingers there isnt a second wave rather than doing things properly.
Seriously, what did you expect.
Everything they do ends up as a joke and in tatters.
Still, you voted for them so you must be happy with the way you are being treated.
Coveney said last week that the latest figure in relation to follow up calls with passenger locator forms was 63 per cent. The reason given for the low figures were incorrect numbers and phones not being answered.
Regardless of Coveney’s issue with maths or honesty, how did the government think this would work!
miss-management, changing the goalposts in relation to key decisions, lack of clarity and general headless chicken approach to dealing with covid 19 and the slow reopening of the country has been the biggest danger
So can they explain why the pubs in rural Ireland are closed,
@conriel: plenty of pubs open, they leave an empty dirty plate in front of the customer incase anyone checks. Not many following of the rules that I’ve seen
@Dawn Harvey:Since you’ve become the 2020 version of pub spy can you let us know where all those pubs are. Lots of people who haven’t had a pint since last March would love to know.
A very real danger are health workers being called to work infected not passengers that are assumed infection free . Priorities cleverly ignored by all.
“Other HCWs who may be considered for a derogation from management
A HCW, with a household contact who is symptomatic & self-isolating, awaiting
testing/results
A HCW, with a household contact who is symptomatic, but does not fit the criteria of a
suspect case, and will not therefore be tested.
A HCW who had symptoms, but did not fit the criteria of a suspect case, was not tested
and is now at least 48 hours symptom free.
These HCWs can return to work on passive self-monitoring for symptoms.
@Isabel Oliveira: and they really think that people will follow their advice to restrict movements as much as possible when these Health Care Workers who are close contacts of infected people are allowed to roam free? And then HCW from abroad can come in, not isolate and go into hospital settings? But the ordinary people are not allowed to travel… delusional!
@Dr Pablo Rojas Coppari: what is puzzling is the lack of attention this gets from media or people , especially when hospitals are a place where the most vulnerable are. Deflection at its best.
@Isabel Oliveira: If I were to follow the logic and mean-spirited attitude that people have towards those travelling, then I would demand to know when there is a health care working staying in a hotel or dining in a restaurant I attend. These policies clearly make them a threat as infection vectors.
@Isabel Oliveira: It’s not puzzling at all Isabel. It’s all copy and paste. No journalism exists anymore
@Pablo Rojas Coppari: agreed.
@Isabel Oliveira: common sense post as usual Isabel
@Isabel Oliveira: From reading the checklist (appendix 2), this is as a last resort. Even the bit you quoted says ‘may’. The fact that the guidance was released at the end of March, when there was a very real threat of our healthcare system becoming overrun, would lead me to hope this is only used in a case where patient care will suffer from absenteeism. I agree its certainly not a great strategy, couldn’t believe when I saw it in March, and probably was one of the factors in our high rate of infection in HCW’s. Unfortunately we started into this pandemic with staffing shortages in our hospitals so we unfortunately could not deal with a very high level of absenteeism. I guess mitigating factors for the risk they pose are, faster testing, regular monitoring and the fact they use PPE.
I know first hand of people going on holidays in the last couple of weeks, coming home and not bothering to self isolate. It’s ridiculous and dangerous and I swear if I hear them whinge when we go into lock down again I’ll go mental.
@Dawn Harvey: have you heard of health care workers being allowed to go to work after they have been deemed to be a close contact of a Covid-infected person?
@Dawn Harvey: might be a bit late
@Dawn Harvey: you will need to take a break. The pressure of double jobbing will take its toll. First pub spy and now holiday spy.
@Dr Pablo Rojas Coppari: incorrect; a HCW whose household member is self-isolating and awaiting test results is not a confirmed case. Nor is one who ‘does not fit the criteria of infection with Covid-19′.
They *may be a case but it is not a confirmed case.
I thought by now that everyone knows the government lies
Well I know someone who went away to another country and lied about it and came to work straight off the plane, thankfully their boss was ahead of it and suspected them of doing that and was waiting as they arrived to work putting all his colleagues and the whole town at risk, not even wearing a mask. They were sent home to quarantine for the two weeks. Clearly this is happening everywhere. The selfishness of people.
I should of been on my bloody honeymoon right now.
So why aren’t the immigration services who are not carrying out their jobs being let go ?
If you’re not doing your job you should be let go.
Wait till winter sets in then we will suffer.
@Dave Barrett: That’s the spirit… jesus fkin wept
@Dave Barrett: Can we have Hallowe’en first, or do we go straight to winter?
This is a joke.
A neighbour recently returned from London on Sunday after been there for 2 weeks. Collected his bags and went through to arrivals an onwards to the car park. Not 1 single person stopped him or anyone leaving the airport to check their details for follow up calls. How many more passengers disembarked and returned to work the next day. Yet we are been told what to do and stay at home. A bit of a shambles to be honest
The fact is there was a point when there was no Covid 19 in this country. Then someone brought it into the country now 1754 people are dead.
It’s not about the clusters in the country it’s about keeping them out.
Irish governments trade on saying the right thing then doing nothing or next to nothing, but certainly not what they said.
Absolutely Terrible 2ed wave is on the way…
Not good enough
Justice Minister Helen McEntee in her response to Shortall’s parliamentary question said given the increase in passenger numbers recently, the BMU is “required to concentrate on their core immigration duties”.
So how did they do any thing related to their job before the corona virus outbreak, if 61k passengers in a two week period is overehelming them how did they cope with multiples of that for day to day responsibilities for the BMU
Where’s the common sense? Can’t they show some flexibility here? If several people aren’t answering their phones, you simply text them, asking them to ring you back when they aren’t busy.
Make them download the covid 19 tracing app, and at least they can track them, if they need too
@Pamela Lynch: the hotels can also confirm their status.
@Pamela Lynch: I wonder how many are listing hotels for their place of residence during their restricted movement period?
Why cant we have landing cards, ive had to fill them out landing in all sorts of places, they are legal documents, cabin crew have plenty of time now they arent trying to flog over priced drinks and snacks. Or is this too easy, we prefer letting in anyone then keeping no track, just keep the country in semi lock down rather than deal effectivly with the people coming in with the virus.
The ridiculous thing is we are in a great position to achieve high levels if contact tracing. Airlines and hotels have more information than government, and we are wall to wall with domestic and international IT companies and data storage facilities. Government simply needs to put in place the necessary emergency legislation. They knew this was coming for months because it was their decision to remain open. They certainly didn’t ask the people.
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