Sign in. It’s quick, free and it’s up to you.
An account is an optional way to support the work we do. Find out more.
TAOISEACH MICHEÁL MARTIN is travelling to Brussels this morning for a special meeting of the European Council and will undertake “special measures” upon his return.
Martin will be tested for Covid-19 as soon as he returns to Dublin this weekend and again seven days later as a precaution.
He said his attendance at the meeting was “essential” given it’s the first physical meeting of all European leaders since the pandemic began and the “very serious implications” the summit’s outcome will have for Ireland.
“I will have to take special measures. When I come back, I will be tested immediately, and will be tested seven days after I come back as well,” Martin told reporters on Wednesday.
“There’s a range of measures specifically to enable me and ministers when important European Union meetings, in particular, recommence in a physical way, as the council is.”
The much-awaited ‘green list’ of countries for which people will be able to travel to without quarantining will be published on Monday. Despite this, the government is still advising against unnecessary foreign travel.
The Taoiseach has also promised increased staff at ports and airports to inform incoming travellers of their obligations to fill out a passenger locator forms and to restrict movements for 14 days.
Economic uncertainty
Martin will be joining fellow European Union leaders to wrangle over a €750-billion fund to help the hardest-hit member states weather the coronavirus crisis, as well as the EU’s long-term budget for 2021-2027.
The virus fund would be financed through joint EU borrowing and consist mainly of grants. But the proposal is fiercely opposed by Denmark, Sweden, the Netherlands and Austria who want to rein in the spending and insist on loans rather than grants, making agreement this week uncertain.
Crucially, the fund has the backing of German Chancellor Angela Merkel whose own government has ditched its no-new-debt dogma to unleash €130 billion in fiscal stimulus for Europe’s top economy.
European Central Bank Chief Christine Lagarde said that although economic activity in the eurozone has picked up in recent weeks, “uncertainty about the overall speed and scale of the rebound remains high”.
Ahead of today’s summit, Lagarde urged EU leaders to do their bit and quickly agree on the huge recovery plan.
“A very large number of leaders are perfectly aware of the importance of not wasting time and of being able to signal… that there is a level of consensus and determination to invest together, recover together and support each other,” she said in an online press conference yesterday.
The ECB said in June it expected the eurozone economy to shrink by a record 8.7% in 2020 because of the pandemic, before returning to growth in 2021.
Incoming data suggest a rebound is already under way as countries emerge from lockdown and consumption ramps up, but Lagarde stressed that the recovery was still in its “early stages” and “uneven across sectors and jurisdictions”.
- Additional reporting from AFP
To embed this post, copy the code below on your site
Really he had better not put his nose outside his home for 14 days on his return and use his annual leave for this
@Mary: no need. It’s like someone getting a bus to work. He gets on the private jet, goes to a SD meeting and comes home. Although I’m sure lots of people will use it to score political points.
@Mary: Lol. if he doesn’t you’d be giving out he was on the doss for 2 weeks getting paid and his pension etc etc
Essential workers are allowed to bypass the quarantine. If a truck driver can travel abroad for work without quarantine, surely the Taoiseach can for an EU summit. !
@Dave Harris: Martin would be the first to make a political point if any other political leader travelled. Personally can’t wait until he comes back to hear what u turns he has done.
It’s OK folks they also tested mehole for honesty, integrity, ability, leadship and morals, and all came back negative, he hasn’t a trace of any of them including covid…..although we recommend as taxpayers he isolate from politics forever to be safe when he gets back never mind 14 days
@Michael Patrick Newell: Must’ve been the same Doctor that tested Ryan for Sleep Amnesia lol
@Michael Patrick Newell: Did You forget to mention the Entourage of Civil Servants and
Special Advisors that do all the work in any event, but Meehole will take all the credit when all goes well otherwise
Mistakes were Made
Others will be Blamed
He’s no more than anybody else. He should be made abide by the rules otherwise shut up preaching to the country about health policies.
14 days solitary confinement on return and no excuses!!
@Joe Toner: he’s the leader of the country, you hardly expect him to be treated like everyone else? No doubt he’d be lambasted for going on “holidays” if he was to take two weeks off? I suppose the rain is his fault too?
@Munsterman: Rain benefits agriculture, food production and the national economy. How could he have anything to do with that?
@Joe Toner: cope on. He is going to a European leaders meeting.
@Joe Toner: no he is more than everyone else he’s the Taoiseach – I’m sure he doesn’t want to get covid either – hopefully he does a good job for Ireland and gets back safe and sound
@Hugh Corcoran:
He’s going to be a health risk on his return. Wake up and see the light. Despite what you may think, he is not God.
@Munsterman:
14 days quarantine…… No excuses…..
@Hugh Corcoran:
Do you mean “cop” on?…. I’m coping quite well thank you for your concern.
Check your spelling before posting so as not to look silly.
@Hugh Corcoran: Did they ever hear of ZOOM???
@Munsterman: A leader who bought his way to power
@Munsterman: Part time leader.. Wonder did Billy Kelleher go into isolation when he returned from Europe.
@Munsterman: listen you sleeveen ff hack he can transport the virus just like anyone else what about his entourage will they be self isolating , what does that tell you when a nurse coming from Australia to help out had to isolate in a closed hotel for 2 weeks in a room with food left at door, but this clown who commands 14% support can do what he likes, well if that’s the example he wants to give the rest of us so be it!!
@Joe Toner: Well 8 days if the second test comes back negative – which is a fair compromise?
If this can be done for him, why don’t they do it for everyone that returns to this country.
@Barry Buckley:
Agreed 1,000 %
Well how about giving everyone else that has to leave the country the same option test on arrival and seven days later instead of quarantine.
Why is there one rule for him and a different rule for the rest of us
Is he going to self isolate for 14 days off course not some joke
Can the Journal introduce an IQ test for people to be allowed use the comments section. We really do have some contributors that pure thick.
@Hugh Corcoran:
The Journal should introduce a grammar and spelling test for some contributors “who”… are pure thick.
@Hugh Corcoran: agree 100 percent
This double test, is this counted as 1 test per person or classed on record as 2 separate tests? Is it the same for everyone the follow up test. If so does it mean the amount of tests carried out in total actually means we’ve only tested half the amount of people they say they’ve tested?
@Anthony Whelan:
Not sure Anthony!
But suffice to know that our Micheal is off to Brussels not Magaluf, and that Boris won’t be in attendance to confuse things away from his home base.
@Rory J Leonard: sure with all the masks on display nobody will know who’s who, lol
@Anthony Whelan: yes they’re counted and enter the counts as do the 2 swabs counts on swans graphs . If you go to “ our world in data “ you’ll see that the definition of tests are “ samples taken “ swabs taken or “ samples analysed “, aka actual laboratory tests.
There’s no point doing a test at day 7, a test on day two is quite enough. There’s a lot of Confusion between incubation period ( time you take to develop symptoms ) and infectious period ( from day one or two & pre symptoms )
https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/full-list-covid-19-tests-per-day
( you can click on add country and add Ireland or remove other countries to get a better view and click on lines for data points )
@Isabel Oliveira: thanks
@Isabel Oliveira: I thought you had to wait more than two days for there to be enough virus in your system to trigger a positive result (but I am sure its dependent on the test being used)?
And tax payer picks up the bill for the tests….should practice what he preaches isolation 14 days or shut up with the non travel mantra and let us take responsibility for our decision to travel and put the same test facilities at the airport for us all….
Why not send the Minister for Foreign Affairs instead? I mean, he is suppose to be the Irish representative overseas or is this more about the Taoiseach massaging his own ego and trying to make himself seem relevant on the European stage to his 14% support base?
@Jack Cass: the meeting is for prime ministers, to discuss the rescue package ( god help us )
And that’s all we want as well , a test on arrival .
Man arrested on Dublin to Cork train this morning for refusing to wear a mask.
At last we see Martin in the mask, Or is that a old picture of him ,when FF sold us out to the German banks.
I think if we can make travel exceptions for truck drivers, we can make exceptions for our Taoiseach. Too many SF BOTS trying to score silly political points out of this.
Stay over there, your not wanted here
have your say