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Oireachtas.ie

Ireland on course to fully re-open by mid-July, says Taoiseach

‘We do not need to return to a national lockdown again,’ Leo Varadkar told the Dáil today.

TAOISEACH LEO VARADKAR has said Ireland is on course to fully re-open by mid-July.

Speaking in the Dail today, the Taoiseach said reopening the country is a “fine balancing act”.

However, he said the latest Covid-19 figures show that the government’s plan is working.

“The government is now conducting extensive work with the help of the National Public Health Emergency Team (NPHET) on revising phase three and phase four of the road map so we can have the country almost fully opened by mid-July, instead of the middle of August,” he said

“However, some public health advice and bans of mass gatherings need to continue for some time.

“These are still the early stages so it’s too soon evaluate how Phase 2 is going but the early indications are favourable,” he said.

Varadkar added:

“The easing of restrictions on our economy and people has not enabled the virus to make a comeback.

“But, the last couple of days have been quite encouraging, notwithstanding the new notified deaths announced daily by the Department of Health.

“We’re continuing to scale and stockpile supplies and PPE in case there is a second wave, and we will improve testing.”

He said the government’s strategy “is not one of mitigation, it is suppression”, stating that any resurgences may be dealt with locally rather than another full lockdown.

David Nabarro, the World Health Organisation’s Special Envoy on Covid-19, told the Special Dáil Committee today that there will be local areas where perhaps clusters will emerge, where for a short period of time, movement restrictions will have to be imposed. 

“Ireland’s goal is still trying to get the reproductive number to zero if possible by keeping the R number well below one,” said the Taoiseach.

“Unfortunately no strategy utterly insulates us from the risk of the virus re-emerging in our society.

“We share an open border with Northern Ireland which has unrestricted travel with Great Britain. 

“Closing ourselves off from the rest of the world is not an option for Ireland in the medium to long term so we need to be prepared for the risk of imported cases as we re-open slowly to other countries.

“We need a testing and tracing system capable of identifying new cases, clusters and a resurgence of the virus quickly and so we can contain it and so we do not need to return to a national lockdown again. I am confident we can do that,” he said.

He said when the government makes decisions, whether on restrictions or reopening our country, “we have at all times followed the fundamental principle of protecting lives and not doing harm”. 

“We know there are many types of harm. It is lost lives and it can also be lost livelihoods.  It is the damage to our children’s education, the impact of a prolonged period of isolation on our mental health, or the harm caused by delaying treatment for non-Covid related illness or diseases, also known as secondary deaths.”

The Taoiseach also commended businesses that have re-opened safely.

Between the 18 May and the 5 June over 1,200 inspections were carried out by the Health and Safety Authority.

“An initial analysis of the specific Covid-19 inspections shows that employers are generally taking a responsible and proactive approach. Approximately three quarters of employers had a Response Plan in place. 

“Eight in 10 had completed employee induction training. Nine in 10 had Covid-19 control measures in place. The HSA checklists and templates to drive implementation of the Protocol have now been downloaded over 30,000 times,” he said.

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52 Comments
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    Mute Ciarán O' Donoghue
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    Jun 11th 2020, 1:31 PM

    PINTS!!!!

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    Mute Robbie Harris
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    Jun 11th 2020, 1:41 PM

    @Ciarán O’ Donoghue: good luck trying to get into a pub!

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    Mute Gavin Mckenna
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    Jun 11th 2020, 2:29 PM

    @Ciarán O’ Donoghue: A likely 1 hour time limit, asking bar staff to use a toilet, no standing near the bar, Table service only, no live/background music, no smoking areas likely for smokers, no sitting too close to any friends and above all no craic. Enjoy your pint? Yeah.

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    Mute Newnob
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    Jun 11th 2020, 2:30 PM

    @Ciarán O’ Donoghue: He’ll more than likely push for the 12th to suit his loyalist buddies

    7
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    Mute Gerard Martin
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    Jun 11th 2020, 3:10 PM

    @Robbie Harris: exactly
    Fully opened my hole

    4
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    Mute Gerard Martin
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    Jun 11th 2020, 3:10 PM

    @Robbie Harris: exactly
    Fully opened my hole
    Opened with major restrictions

    4
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    Mute Rochelle
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    Jun 11th 2020, 3:31 PM

    @Gavin Mckenna: why would there be no background music?

    11
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    Mute Paul Mcnevin
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    Jun 11th 2020, 4:01 PM

    @Rochelle: Good pint.

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    Mute Tom Bombdadil
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    Jun 11th 2020, 4:27 PM

    @Gavin Mckenna: that won’t be the case when all the pubs fully open, the 2m rule will be gone and it will be business as usual. They will announce that fairly soon.

    13
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    Mute Paul Mcnevin
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    Jun 11th 2020, 8:20 PM

    @Gavin Mckenna: Good luck policing that.

    2
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    Mute Seán Dennehy
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    Jun 11th 2020, 1:41 PM

    While theatres are closed and mass gatherings for events are banned then the country is not fully re-open. Some peoples jobs are still gone as a result of these measures and they won’t be back working in July so there should be some recognition of that.

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    Mute Liz O'Neill
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    Jun 11th 2020, 1:39 PM

    So any word on lifting the quarantine restrictions? Most of us who work can’t take our holidays unless the two week rule is lifted.

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    Mute Dara O'Brien
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    Jun 11th 2020, 1:46 PM

    @Liz O’Neill: why not?

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    Mute Alan Daly
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    Jun 11th 2020, 1:55 PM

    @Dara O’Brien: Presumably if you have a job that you can’t do from home and you go on a holiday and then need to self isolate for 2 weeks upon returning then it might not be possible?

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    Mute Bren
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    Jun 11th 2020, 1:58 PM

    @Liz O’Neill: The stupidity of this comment. You realise that the virus still exists right?

    39
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    Mute Kevin
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    Jun 11th 2020, 2:36 PM

    @Liz O’Neill:

    Holidays are for wimps. We all need to champion productivity, output and shareholder value. Get back to work :-)

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    Mute Liz O'Neill
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    Jun 11th 2020, 2:48 PM

    @Dara O’Brien: because another two weeks would need to be taken after the break to take the quarantine. Doubt if an employer would pay for that and wouldn’t expect them too.

    17
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    Mute Liz O'Neill
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    Jun 11th 2020, 3:00 PM

    @Bren: Yes. So what’s your point? Restrictions are being lifted. They have to be for all sorts of reasonsRead the article. Or do you want to use ‘the virus’ as an excuse to put life on hold forever?

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    Mute Niall Ó Cofaigh
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    Jun 11th 2020, 3:18 PM

    @Bren: and it was not that long ago that people wanted to ban flights from Italy… and back then there were less cases and transmissions then there are currently in Italy as the virus was only starting (239 new cases 29th Feb and and 283 new cases on the 9th June).. and the same for Spain which had 26 new cases on the 1st March and 314 on the 10th June

    - I really cannot understand the demands to close on bound travel back then and the desire to allow Irish people travel to these countries now. It should be stressed that statistically people are more likely to pick up the virus now in Italy then back in February.. and maybe this is the reason to request self isolation for all inbound travellers including Irish heading away for two weeks in the sun.

    I am unsure of what is best but hoildaying in Ireland seem the best option (if it were not for the rain and wind and cold seas) for keeping low virus numbers in Ireland.

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    Mute Niall Ó Cofaigh
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    Jun 11th 2020, 3:21 PM

    @Liz O’Neill: of course you can take your holidays – just do not travel to SARS-Cov-2 infected countries but rather stay in Ireland (Sorry about the weather)

    I just did some checking and there are more transmissions of the virus now in Spain and Italy then there were back in Feb 2020 – so we cannot throw caution to the wind, even though I would like to see international travel opened up again – but only when safe.

    7
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    Mute Patrick Agnew
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    Jun 11th 2020, 1:33 PM

    Open the pubs tomorrow

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    Mute Colonel Grant
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    Jun 11th 2020, 1:43 PM

    @Patrick Agnew:

    Some are “ Open “ already .

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    Mute Just Some Guy
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    Jun 11th 2020, 1:53 PM

    @Patrick Agnew:

    Is that all you care about? The Pubs? You can get drink in shops

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    Mute Joey Navinski
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    Jun 11th 2020, 1:56 PM

    @Just Some Guy: but you can’t sit at a bar and have a few with friends in the shop.

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    Mute Patrick Agnew
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    Jun 11th 2020, 2:19 PM

    @Just Some Guy: actually…. yes!

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    Mute Paul Power
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    Jun 11th 2020, 2:21 PM

    @Joey Navinski: don’t think you will be sitting at a bar.

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    Mute Roy Donovan
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    Jun 11th 2020, 1:32 PM

    Sure you’d have to have a pint to celebrate that.

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    Mute james r
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    Jun 11th 2020, 2:15 PM

    Economy has been destroyed.. by a virus that’s 99.8 survival rate.. flu yr every yr .. follow the money

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    Mute Gavin Mckenna
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    Jun 11th 2020, 2:31 PM

    @james r: Hello Gemma!

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    Mute mar
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    Jun 11th 2020, 2:35 PM

    @james r: 99.74% according to CDC

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    Mute Kevin
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    Jun 11th 2020, 2:38 PM

    @james r:

    I can send you a link to an online statistics course if your still confused.

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    Mute Sarah Clifford
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    Jun 11th 2020, 3:14 PM

    @james r: i havent come across anyone that had this virus so your right and it was certainly not worth destroying the livelihoods of millions of people not to mention whole hospital departments. End this lockdown before more people are forced into irreversible poverty

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    Mute Niall Ó Cofaigh
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    Jun 11th 2020, 3:32 PM

    @james r: survival rate ??? Oh that must be the flu you are talking about.. or are you including those who were never infected in the survival rate again!

    At time of writing 7,497,048 have been confirmed infected by testing, 419,811 have died and 3,805,726 have recovered. Most phone and computers come with a calculator – do the maths.

    Only some person who thinks that you include people not infected as surviving – one can, using that logic, say that everyone alive has survived a heart attack and cancer and those born pre 1975 all survived the Vietnam war. Oh look I survived a shark attack – as I was never attacked by a shark – I hope you are understanding!

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    Mute Niall Ó Cofaigh
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    Jun 11th 2020, 3:33 PM

    @mar: another shark attack and bee sting survivor?

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    Mute Niall Ó Cofaigh
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    Jun 11th 2020, 3:35 PM

    @Kevin: They are including people never infected as surviving – I call them the bee stink and shark attack survivors – and I am glad you survived the bee sting and shark attack – it is great to survive a shark attack that never happened

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    Mute Sarah Clifford
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    Jun 11th 2020, 5:01 PM

    @Niall Ó Cofaigh: if you were told that over 25,000 people all across ireland were attacked by sharks in the last 6 months but yet you knew nobody who were attacked and despite asking all your friends if they knew anyone but who did then you would question the validity of these statistics like a rational thinking person

    5
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    Mute Brad*
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    Jun 11th 2020, 5:01 PM

    I must say , the Government have ,for the majority, handled the whole lockdown very well. Roll on lifting the measures and some normality back to everyone lives , but only when safe to do so…

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    Mute Eoincarroll
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    Jun 11th 2020, 7:11 PM

    @Brad*: I’ve been in the United States throughout all of this. The contrast between irish and American politicians has been stark. There will always be naysayers, but they’ve done a fantastic job here.

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    Mute Fionn Darland
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    Jun 11th 2020, 1:32 PM

    Whoo whoo!!

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    Mute Ríain HenC
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    Jun 11th 2020, 1:58 PM

    Now I can see why Leo is pushing the barbers and hairdressers forward a week or two :)

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    Mute Eileen O'Sullivan
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    Jun 11th 2020, 1:46 PM
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    Mute Martin Smith
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    Jun 11th 2020, 2:52 PM

    Has he vacated farmleigh now that he can travel from his apt to the park to sink a couple of cans with his buddies without breaching distance travel.

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    Mute tuco
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    Jun 11th 2020, 2:09 PM

    Can’t see airports going into full flight again anytime soon

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    Mute Peter Bell
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    Jun 11th 2020, 3:16 PM

    What about the Strip clubs, asking for a friend…..

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    Mute Roy Donovan
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    Jun 11th 2020, 5:03 PM

    @Peter Bell: she’s not your friend, she just wants your money.

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    Mute Peter Bell
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    Jun 12th 2020, 9:58 PM

    @Roy Donovan: Damn conned again.

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    Mute Pat Coyne
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    Jun 11th 2020, 2:04 PM

    When will members of the Dáil be allowed to organise mass demonstrations again?

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    Mute Shakka1244
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    Jun 11th 2020, 3:30 PM

    Looks like at least one of Leo’s bosses in the Golden Circle are losing money

    9
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    Mute Davy
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    Jun 11th 2020, 4:30 PM

    I can’t go back to work until the 2 metre social distancing is reduced. Bit of a nightmare when most other countries have a 1 metre policy. :-(

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    Mute Tom Bombdadil
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    Jun 11th 2020, 7:53 PM

    @Davy: will be gone soon, my moneys on the start of July

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    Mute Robbie Harris
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    Jun 11th 2020, 1:40 PM

    good man ciaran!

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    Mute albhbc
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    Jun 11th 2020, 3:59 PM

    Will be back up square one without proper testing, tracking and isolating ):

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