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LAST UPDATE | 24 Sep 2020
THE CABINET HAS decided to place Donegal under Level 3 of restrictions, amid a spike in cases in the county.
The decision was made at an incorporeal meeting of ministers as they considered the latest advice from the National Public Health Emergency Team (NPHET).
According to the data published earlier today from Health Protection and Surveillance Centre (HPSC), Donegal’s 14-day Covid-19 incidence rate of 122.5 per 100,000 population is second only to Dublin. With tonight’s latest figures, it now has eclipsed Dublin.
Speaking this evening, Taoiseach Micheál Martin said that government had “no choice other than to act, and act decisively”.
The restrictions will kick in from midnight tomorrow night and will last for three weeks.
“We will not hesistate to take whatever decisions are necessary to protect lives and public health,” Martin said. “The government has decided that all of Co Donegal must now join Dublin.”
The Taoiseach also announced additional supports for the county, with a 30% top-up to the restart plus grant to help those affected during the three-week period.
He said that while not inevitable, it could be the case that other areas could be put under stricter restrictions in the future as the virus continues to spread across the country.
Given Donegal’s proximity to Northern Ireland, the Taoiseach said he’d discussed developments with Stormont’s first minister Arlene Foster and deputy first minister Michelle O’Neill. He also said that Dr Ronan Glynn was in contact with his counterpart in Northern Ireland and that discussions would be ongoing to ensure the most effective co-operation as the fight against Covid-19 goes on.
Martin added that Covid levels in Louth, Waterford, Wicklow, Kildare, Cork and Galway are being watched closely.
Outbreaks are particularly bad in the Lifford and Stranorlar areas, acting chief medical officer Dr Ronan Glynn said at a press conference this evening. In the case of Stranorlar, it has 14-day incidence rate of 336 per 100,000 population – the highest in the country.
“We’re all eager for normal life to return,” he said. “But this is the opportunity the virus has been waiting on… do not underestimate the value of your individual actions. Please stick with this.
I do not want to be back here next week having to make recommendations for other counties. There is an opportunity now for people to take action to stop that from happening.
Today’s decision will come as a blow to the business owners of Donegal, their families and their staff, and especially for rural pubs which have only just opened the doors. I know this will feel like another set back after what has been a really tough year
— Leo Varadkar (@LeoVaradkar) September 24, 2020
Under Level 3, a range of new restrictions will apply in the county. All of the restrictions that apply in Dublin now apply in Donegal – with one exception.
People in Donegal would be told to stay in the county and only leave it for essential purposes, only have visitors from one other household in your home or garden and to work from home unless absolutely necessary.
Indoor dining in pubs and restaurants would not be allowed, with only outdoor dining permitted to a maximum of 15 people. Unlike Dublin, wet pubs can remain open but with the same limit of a maximum of 15 people outdoors only.
This weekend, weddings in Donegal can proceed as originally planned up to a limit of 50 guests. However, from Monday weddings can have a maximum of 25 guests.
The government unveiled its new five-level system last week and Dublin was moved from Level 2 to Level 3 on Saturday.
It is hoped that increasing restrictions will stabilise the growth rate of Covid-19 in an area and eventually see them reduce to an extent that restrictions can be loosened again.
Donegal-based GP Denis McCauley told TheJournal.ie earlier today that he and colleagues could see Covid-19 “bubbling through the actual community” in recent weeks.
“These aren’t discrete outbreaks,” he said. “It is bubbling through the community. We have one to two weeks to get this under control in Donegal.”
“I think Donegal is probably where it is now because of the warm weather and because it is summer.”
He said that people staycationing in Donegal, coupled with “a complacency that has existed or a little while”, might be the cause of the severe outbreak.
Reacting to the announcement, Sinn Féin TDs for Donegal Pearse Doherty and Pádraig Mac Lochlainn said it would come as “very difficult news” for the people of the county.
They said: “People have tried very hard in recent months to respond to the Covid-19 pandemic. It has been a very challenging time. We now need to dig deep and get back to Level 2 as soon as possible.
“Together we can get ahead of the virus by following public health advice, by limiting our social contacts and staying safe.”
With reporting from Christina Finn, Dominic McGrath
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1) Cops only go after the easy stops
2) students need to grow a pair
@Thomas Harrington: honestly have never seen students complaining. Only people complaining about students.
Also I don’t see how it’s acceptable to say “grow a pair” when students are getting regular fines of €75 when they don’t have any income.
@Thomas Harrington: if they only go after the easy stops who is filling the jail’s with the terrorists, murderers, organised gangs ?
If those little scrotes weren’t having house parties and super spreader get togethers they would have no problems with the guards.
@Pat Casey: maybe read the article
Policing Authority trying to justify their existence again. I can understand the role of GSOC but the policing authority seems like a complete waste of time
The policing authority…… They don’t want body cams because that would be spying on the community says it all really
“People should not be afraid of their government, government should be afraid of their people”
@Diarmuid O’Braonáin: they are… thats why we have the police. You don’t think they’re there for us, do you?!
low hanging fruit is always the tastiest.
@plug: depends on who’s plums you’re tasting
@plug: True that… sure most garda never even see an actual criminal. It goes…
Order of engagement:
Drug users (non supply)
Low level drug mules/ growers
Students
Road users
Actual criminals (low level)
White collar
Government corruption
Other police (usually abusive partners… although realistically this would be much further down)
And yet no fines for people attending golfgate
@Darren Carroll: bit difficult since fines for breaching travel restrictions only came into effect in January 2021, but hey! Whataboutery, am I right?!
@OnlyHereForTheComments: well you’re certainly leaning that way…
if students behaved they wouldn’t have this issue.
@larry bird: and for you! What about read the article? I promise you won’t take that long.
I do have sympathy for students as depicted in the article and yes the pandemic has introduced a changed interface between the gardai and the public. Some gardai behave in an authoritarian manner arising out of new powers the government sanctioned , for a people who have always known policing by consent, this change in attitude is difficult to take on board, it will be good when sanctions are withdrawn and policing returns to normal, no more heavy handed rules and interrogation of people just trying to live their lives.
@Honeybee: The Gardai will always feel entitled to interrogate you at any checkpoint from this point onwards, regardless of the law. Sure, I was out walking once in the park a few years ago and they wanted to randomly search my bag, know all my details… I just asked “why?” and they responded “because we’ll arrest you if you don’t tell us”. Gardai are disgusting to deal with as a young person.
Gardaí will only target those they can pick on. Older people can break the 5km all they like and have far fewer consequences. Students (within their 5km) have been fined so many times (anecdotally). It’s the same with drugs – they’ll pick on harmless people for smoking a joint and won’t go after real drug dealing criminals.
I really don’t think Irish people fully understand the implications of all these restrictions, having the longest lockdown in the world, and having people in fear of arrest or fine just from seeing a police officer. These have long term consequences down the line. Just one example is, as mentioned in the article, if young people start seeing Gardai as the aggressor, they’re could end up not reporting crime to the Gardai.
The Garda, not all, are incorrectly perceived as being desk jockeys who turn a blind eye to common dangerous misdemeanors such as cyclists with no lights on their bikes, cyclsts breaking red lights and less dangerous but, just as annoying, dog owners not being fined for not picking up their dog’s excrement (nothing quite beats walking in dog s%it and bringing it home on your shoes).
As Alexei Sayle once said “I hate fooking students, even when I was a student I hated fooking students”
So there you have! I’m not a student and i can tell that what written in this article doesn’t surprise me at all.
Anyway, people refuse but the truth of since 2020 “End does justify the means”.
have your say