The Tánaiste has said the way the recommendation from the National Public Health Emergency Team to move to Level 5 "hadn't been thought through and there hadn't been prior consultation".
Speaking on RTÉ's Claire Byrne Live, Leo Varadkar said what happened was not good for the Government, NPHET or the Irish people and he said it "came out of the blue". The Tánaiste also said there was "nothing new in the space of three days that warranted them changing their advice" to move from a Level 3 to Level 5 status.
Mr Varadkar said there was no suggestion that NPHET was contemplating a move to Level 5 last Thursday, when they last held a meeting. 'We didn't feel #NPHET proposal had been thought through' - Tánaiste Leo Varadkar #cblive pic.twitter.com/z8YhvYgFPS
Why would we listen to NPHET ,what do all those medical experts really know.The government is more qualified to make these decisions for everyone.
Is it lord leo or Michael that running the country
Why wasn't there prior consultation? Think in our current predicament that would be a prerequisite...Instead of both creating a tense atmosphere that doesn't augur well in our fight against covid.
It was the fault of the government at the time of NPHET been established that provision had not been made for a prior consultation process and on how and when public pronouncements are made. Duty of NPHET is to advise and not lead.
They have thrown NPHET under the bus, next up are the front line workers.
Terrible example by the government they should lead by example and listen to advice from the experts and scientists. Should we all ignore the rules and scientific advice when it suits us? 😡 😷
That's insulting, and you need to apologise to NPHET and Dr Holohan.
Lol, government to the rescue. Bunch of corrupt bastards.
Com’n LeoVaradkar dont tell us bs... you knew this would, may happen... now you blame NPHET and CMOIreland ? What will you say when in three weeks or less, you will agree to move to L5? As just a gp, what would you recommend? ‘Wash your hands’? Not enough, not working man..
If government cant go with the consequences certainly individuals and businesses can't. Told to self isolate why face the financial and social consequences, if they feel OK they will prob go to work
Hadn’t been thought through and no consultation a bit like every government national plan ever. No change there then!
They thought that was a political matter for us. It is and you should have been planning for such a scenario while you had the chance rather than taking photo ops. Don’t excoriate NPHET for doing their job, just do yours or get off the stage.
Leastways he speaks straight. No waffle. And he answers questions put to him. One may not like the answer but there you go.
China is telling the WHO what to do, destroy the western economy and then they buy up all the premises for a song they're doing it all over the world
This is misleading when the acting chief medical officer explicitly said that it was a recommendation to be weighted up with other gov considerations.
LeoVaradkar are you for fucking real. NEPHET don't consult they advise. Your actions will determine the trajectory as much as the publics.
So a team that specialises in public health and has access to daily covid figures (probably more specific than what we see) and more than likely includes experts in epidemiology (PHDs even) hadn’t thought about their recommendations clearly enough... Right, got it.
Up to now it was a constant line, We are driven by medical advice and always accept it.!! Not on this occasion? He makes valid points but they never mattered before why now?
At the risk if sounding like an idiot....how the fuck can leo just say that they dissmis what nephit want after they brought them in to tell them what to do.... something really wrong there
. . When a Golfer crys 'Fore' Leo just won't wear his helmet and in fact its not his colour.
You have just agreed with everything Dr Martin Feeley said on prime time .
That just made one donkey look like an ass anyway!!!!
He knows better.. He's a doctor... Hey Leo you forgot your stethoscope LeoVaradkar MichealMartinTD IzNk1ng
Someone would want to leak better quality info to George Glee and his buddies in RTE before they go terrorising half the country next time.
Does the puppeteers finger nails scratch the back of his eyeballs?
“We needed time to plan” -surely when you had a plan with a level 5.... you made a plan for what that entailed and how you would administer such? Really disappointing that to vindicate the govs refusal of NPHET recommendations, they needed to undermine and destroy trust in NPHET
Holohan is an attention seeker and the Govt bears full responsibility for allowing this guy to take centre-stage in his daily briefings at the height of the pandemic.
This man is a Doctor ....Let that sink in 🤦♂️🤦♂️
So person can demonstrate a selfish act by going to a large gathering event, come back to a local village, spread the virus, get tested positive, and just isolate for two weeks and all is forgiven! Why can't these weak politicians stop the soft EU nonsense and fine ignoramuses!
Leoland
'They thought that making political decisions was a matter for us politicians'
We’re all in this together eh ? 🤣🤣
Communicate and consult FFS!
He’s bricking it because of the mistakes made under his and SimonHarrisTD watch at the beginning of the pandemic. Extortionate rents paid for private hospitals and the City West complex that were under utilised. Money that could have been invested in the public hospital ICUS.
2 dopes and and sleepy makin our decisions🤚newe
Yea, 40 highly educated professionals didn't think it through 😂😂😂😂
GROW UP STOP THE SPIN & SLANDER TAKE RESPONSIBILITY DO YOUR JOB START PROTECTING PEOPLE
So come level 5, Leo does in fact want to shut the schools?
Ohhh so tweedle dumb and tweedle thee and sleepy know better than NEPHET🤦🏼♀️🤦🏼♀️🤦🏼♀️
leekelly
The Govt isn’t prepared for Level 5? That’s what I’m hearing LeoVaradkar A bomb could drop on Ireland and you’ve nothing in place? Is a world wide pandemic not reAson enough to have one?! Get a Level 5 support plan, one for every level infact that kicks in 🙄
Thank you leo, you have used your logical thinking a at this point I trust you over all the rest
Ppl need to take personal responsibility control themselves & behaviours, but protests no social distancing, house parties, gaa celebrations parades, ppl in shops without masks constantly. Another lockdown wont change the behaviours! Ironically, the pubs are behaving as requested
If he is a qualified doctor you'd never know it from some of his comments during this crisis. Thank God he isnt practicing!
Leo ignored the original 5step plan, and here we are.
Tough times and even tougher ahead!
This is what leadership looks like.
Throwing them under the bus Leo can’t be trusted what a snake 😂😂
DefundNPHET
Remember Leo ignored the original 5 step plan.
What an arrogant, self serving individual Varadkar is.
Reopen the pubs everyone is sick of this shite
Political theatre - people really lap this recommendation charade up, today 50,000ppl just losttheirjobs, poverty has gone up, suicides will follow and mental anguish,and people here celebrating that they didn’t lock us completely down. Spineless people in this country, sickening
Yikes!
Nasty piece of work.
This guy is living in fear of the eventual discovery of the scam by the masses - whatever he says now is driven by rational self interest - he is politically dead - he’s rumbled except not by that NPC fella I work with who thinks he’s great
You being unprepared LeoVaradkar was one of the issue here. Do you not know by now that the possibility of a very strict lockdown can arise? Seriously?
Oh good god. Its every man for himself now. Maybe in a weird way people might cop on because they don't want to go to 5. If that gets a positive result I'll be the first to congratulate the government and the public of course. .
He's pulling a sick stunt to gain political support now that FG and FF are finally in government with each other, and overseeing a public health disaster. The Irish people are waking up to the fact that the FF/FG binary is imaginary and he's bricking it.
Why is it every single time i see the news or a debate i watch, right until leo varadkar arrives, then i turn off the tv. I just get the impression that he simply can not tell the truth.
here is the quality of answers tonight we really are F..ked
Go to level 1.. no need for any of this
Did he not blame SF for suggesting level 5?
This is mean spirited as the CMO and his team gave no right of reply!
We got covid down after 1st hard lockdown,then we started the plan of reopening places, put stringent rules in place with masks, sanitiser etc, and it happened again!? Level 3 is not going to do anything apart from stress people out, we need to do it right CLOSE THE PORTS!!🍀🇮🇪
LeoVaradkar
The levels were already there. They were already agreed and signed off by all parties. There's very little thinking to be done it's straightforward. Job done.
His army of special advisers won’t get Leo out of the massive hole he’s just dug for himself. Throwing NPHET under the bus is misguided to say the least!
Well said Leo.
Leo and the government are an absolute disgrace, they are delaying the inevitable and now we will probably end up in a hard lockdown for Christmas not to mind the lives that will be lost in the meantime . Spineless.
He did well in this interview. Straightforward solid arguments reacting to a poor interviewer.
On the ropes interview.
Leo v talked about poverty but yet he cut the pup payments, give us a break. They are sick about people knowing what NPHET advised, their lack of communication will let covid win!!
613 cases on Saturday but it came out of the blue 🤔
Who leaked it? They didn't think it through
Leo just worried about corner shops
Where was he all weekend then as the dogs in the street knew about level 5
LeoVaradkar but can throw Nphet and holohan under the bus in such a arrogant way LeoVaradkar is such a arrogant man he has just created a shit storm
He wants herd immunity. Check his tweets. Very dangerous individual. He should remember that the whole reason he is still a relevant politician is because he locked down and saved lives!!!
CMOIreland may have just rattled his last cage .
Oh Leo, can't wait to see how this fecks everything up tonight and tomorrow. What a completely idiotic thing to do.
He’s right too