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FORMER TAOISEACH BERTIE Ahern has said the government will “lose the public” if the current roadmap for lifting restrictions into August is adhered to.
Speaking on RTÉ Radio 1 with Brendan O’Connor, Ahern said he thinks bars are “in trouble” right now but that the “entire tourist season” could be “ruined” if the country does not unwind restrictions sooner.
Under the government’s current plan announced on 1 May, the Covid-19 restrictions in this country are to be gradually unwound in five phases each three weeks apart.
It means that the final stage does not begin until 10 August, when bars can reopen and larger social gatherings such as weddings can take place.
With chief medical officer Dr. Tony Holohan saying two weeks ago that the virus has been “effectively extinguished from the community”, much of the debate in recent days has been centred around whether the country is being too cautious in how it reopens.
Three-time taoiseach Ahern says he believes thing must move quicker, referencing cafés and restaurants in his community he says are struggling.
“They’re paying their rents, they’re only taking in a few bucks, and it’s going really really slowly, they can’t continue on that much longer. None of them seem to have got off their rents, people who are trying to open up, hotels as opposed to restaurants are still closed,” he said.;
By the way, on Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday they’re delivering at home, that’s become quite a big one, a restaurant I know very well is delivering more meals on a Friday night and Saturday night now than they have places in the hotel. So it’s not all Doomsday, though there is a lot a lot of Doomsday.
Ahern also suggest that Phase 5 of the roadmap could be brought into Phase 4 (20 July) so that tourism could benefit.
“So I think you will not carry the public if we drift into August, you will ruin the tourist season entirely if you drift into August, but I don’t think you can just abandon it all,” he said.
I think the fourth lockdown has to open up and if that doesn’t open up I think the season has gone, and that would kill a huge part of the tourism. There’s a half a million people, tied up in the bars, restaurant, tourist season in this country. I know about the health but if you’re balancing economics, I think that half a million, the people who are the people who are low money, struggling on the season, and they need that, so that’s a half a million workers.
“Bars and gyms I’m afraid, two things I like, but bars and gyms I think are in trouble,” he added.
“Because even if you bring it down to the one metre rules. I still think the end of July, 50 days from tomorrow if we follow all the other rules and seems like long enough I think drifting into August I think you’ll lose the public.”
Ahern said that he thinks the government has on the whole “done a good job” but that he sees several failings in how things have been handled.
“I think the government has done a good job and I think Tony Holohan and his his team have done a good job, I have great admiration for the man,” he said.
There’s been lots of problems on the way and I think as I look at those as things we should learn. I think we made a hames leaving the Italians in when there was no match. They were all over Drumcondra that weekend, it was crazy, it was equally crazy to send 50,000, to Cheltenham. The PPE equipment thing was all over the place for a while.
“And the Leaving Cert, I have my own views on it. I have to say I still think Leaving Cert wasn’t to start until next Wednesday. And I still think we should have had it.”
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Great initiative by the teachers and school
Well done.
I hope all those who have been bashing teachers over the last while read this
@Nell foran: one school doing something good doesn’t take away from the fact that many others didn’t bother with their students once the schools were shut. If it was a negative article you wouldn’t say you hope people praising schools take it into account because all schools are separate and can’t be put in the same bucket. Some schools and teachers have been amazing but a lot haven’t and it’s a disgrace and needs to be addressed.
@D: agreed, I know some teachers have put in a great effort, but many haven’t bothered and left their students in limbo.
Their performance during this should be reviewed.
@D: just like all students and people in general
@Huey: same as students some headed for the hills at lockdown and never bothered. Look you can say that about anything. It’s so easy to write shit when you don’t actually understand. Poor broadband might have caused lots of bother too. But yeah we go with your negative outlook
@Jim Casey: you cannot compare students and teachers like that. There’s always going to be students who don’t bother and don’t care, that’s going to happen no matter what but it’s a teachers job to educate their students. No one expected life to be like this but the rest of us that are still fortunate to be able to work are continuing to do so from home. If someone in another sector decided they weren’t bothered working while still getting full pay, there would be consequences
@Jim Casey: I do understand Jim.
I’ve seen the difference in teachers performance through various families and friends and the level of engagement from their schools as will alot of parents reading will attest.
My son’s school complied an amazing online graduation as well, with videos from well known public figures. It was emotional for the whole family, the culmination of 6 years of education delivered remotely. Hats off to the teachers and the graduation class of 2020.
Fair play . Lovely idea
Well done to them. Fair play to the school and teachers. Brilliant job
Such an awful year for so many kids. They’ve missed out on rites of passage moments. No end end of school celebration, grads/debs cancelled, no leaving cert, transition to college will likely be simply a move from one online platform to a different one. They’ve been locked up with no structure in terms of school, sport, dance, drama, choir etc. They’ve been labelled superspreaders and vectors of the virus, banned from supermarkets. They’ve no chance of a job for the summer, no holidays. I’ve a 17 year old and the impact this is having on him is heartbreaking.
@Anne Marie Devlin: Most of the kids you talk about are adults
Balling reading this. It’s not fair on them. But thanks so so much for the efforts the teachers are going to. Not just here, across the country.
Well done Old Bawn, leading the way in student care
Well done teachers , that’s really thoughtful
While the teenagers caused havoc around the country even attacking Garda in salthill.
@Colin McCarthy: a very small number of teenagers causing havoc you can’t tar them all with the same brush
D,
Support that statement about some schools and teachers abandoning their students. With refrences and sources supplied please.
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