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Dublin's St Patrick's Day Parade in 2019. PA

Taoiseach says St Patrick's Day parades won't take place this year

Micheál Martin said there won’t be enough people vaccinated to allow the festivities to go ahead.

WITH ST PATRICK’S Day now just two months away, Taoiseach Micheál Martin has said that that he does not see any parades to mark the holiday going ahead this year because of the Covid-19 pandemic.

The cancellation of parades around the country last March signalled the severity of the public health crisis that Ireland was heading into.

The streets look set to be quiet for two years running as the Taoiseach told Virgin Media News that there won’t be enough people vaccinated to allow festivities to go ahead this year.

“The one thing we’ve learned about this virus, it changes, it evolves into different phases, different variations are coming on stream. Clearly vaccination is the key to this,” the Taoiseach said.

Martin was also quizzed about the reopening of schools and he said that children with special needs are the government’s first priority for returning to classrooms, followed by leaving cert students.

The Taoiseach said the situation will be reassessed at the end of January but added that no guarantees can be given because of the high level of coronavirus circulating in the community.

Martin added that the preference across all government departments at present is for the leaving cert to be held in a traditional manner this summer.

“As of now we’re looking at a traditional leaving cert. I would say, all round, that we just need to hold our nerve and have a degree of patience on this,” he said. 

The Taoiseach also said that US President-elect Joe Biden will come to Ireland on a state visit after tackling the coronavirus outbreak.

“He told me when I invited him after the conversation, after his election, he said: ‘try and keep me out’,” Martin said.

“Obviously with Covid being very dominant all over the world and in the United States, where it’s very, very prevalent at the moment, that’s his first task, he told me, when he would become president, to deal with the Covid-19 issue and to deal with the vaccinations there,” he added.

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    Mute Nathan Wheeler
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    May 4th 2016, 10:52 AM

    Good guy China, mass murdering its own people for the glorious Communist future since 1949.

    Wally Mooney would love to spend time with his communist brethren.

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    Mute James O Conner
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    May 4th 2016, 10:53 AM

    I’d say your great craic in the pub Nathan

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    Mute Nathan Wheeler
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    May 4th 2016, 10:55 AM

    I will take that as a compliment !

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    Mute Ted Murray
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    May 4th 2016, 11:14 AM

    I think they’re more capitalunists these days.

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    Mute Sean Johnston
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    May 4th 2016, 11:17 AM

    You think they were bad Commies? Wait until this embracement of capitalism has run its course. We’ll be lucky if anyone is left alive to tell the tale.

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    Mute Barry Casey
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    May 4th 2016, 12:53 PM

    When do you think that will be Sean? I’ll put your Nostradamus type prediction down in my diary

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    Mute Patrick Hurley
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    May 4th 2016, 11:19 AM

    27 years for a political non-violent protest. And we think we have a corrupt system.

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    Mute Ó Connmhaigh
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    May 4th 2016, 1:22 PM

    Didn’t stop president Higgins and Irish politicians doing business with them.
    And then Higgins has the gall to tell the British that “a policy of amnesia won’t do” when it comes to facing up to injustices. Another cucumber sandwich, Dobby?

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    Mute Jeremiah A Craic
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    May 4th 2016, 10:45 AM

    A great bunch of lads

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    Mute Old Gordon
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    May 4th 2016, 12:55 PM

    Although they might be nominally communist, China does have some admirable traits. Without elections, they can plan long term without the issue of a new shower of moronic politicians ruining everything every five years.

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    Mute Leo Lowe
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    May 4th 2016, 1:06 PM

    And they would know how to deal effectively with water protestors.

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    Mute James Stratford
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    May 4th 2016, 5:17 PM

    Not everything is about water!

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    Mute John Reid
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    May 4th 2016, 3:02 PM

    The people who vote for the likes of the Marxist/socialist so-called People Before Profit, Anti-Austerity Alliance and Sinn Fein should read more articles like this, and about Venezuela and the rest of the countries which have adopted socialist/communist governments.

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    Mute David Clarke
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    May 4th 2016, 1:47 PM

    And your buddies Leo who have robbed this country blind and caused the deaths of hundreds who took their own life and sometimes took their kids as well you proud of that Leo the lion yea c.nt

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    Mute Pat Walsh
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    May 4th 2016, 1:36 PM

    Poor man, he may have been better off with the death sentence.

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    Mute paul kelly
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    May 4th 2016, 3:10 PM

    I love chicken curry

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