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MEMBERS OF THE National Public Health Emergency Team (NPHET) are causing “uncertainty and irritation” for business owners in the manner in which they communicate with the public via the media, Ireland’s top business lobbyist has claimed.
Danny McCoy, chief executive of IBEC — the largest business lobbying group in the State — also called for “a sequential easing of restrictions to begin from the last week of November” for retailers and hospitality businesses, instead of 2 December as planned.
“While IBEC fully acknowledges the continuing need for vigilance, the manner of communications in the media from members of NPHET continues to be a source of uncertainty and irritation for businesses and the public in making necessary plans for the coming crucial period of Christmas.
“This pattern, now seemingly embedded, in limiting the choice for Government is one we understood you and colleagues were going to address,” he told the Taoiseach.
McCoy’s remarks are contained in a letter sent to Taoiseach Micheál Martin and senior government ministers yesterday.
It comes ahead of a Cabinet decision, due by the end of next week, on how the country is to move out of Level 5.
Speaking on RTÉ’s Morning Ireland Programme this morning, McCoy said, “We haven’t lost confidence in the government nor in NPHET, because they’re doing their best, they’re using the information as best they can. But the communication is awful.”
He accused members of NPHET of “kite-flying” through the media, which he said “does limit the government’s choices but it also gives frustration to the general public”.
But he said that Chief Medical Officer Tony Holohan has a role to play as an adviser to the government.
‘Urgent concerns’
McCoy said that business owners have “very serious and urgent concerns” about the current restrictions.
“The current measures impact upon a large swathe of businesses through restrictions on retail deemed to be non-essential, food and drink services, hospitality, international travel and office-based environments,” he said.
“The blanket suppression of these sectors continues to lack any refinement despite learnings and evidence accumulated since last March.”
This approach “lacks empathy,” McCoy claimed, “and is at this point in the crisis creating much greater economic and social damage than is necessary”.
Level 5 public health restrictions are due to expire on 2 December but McCoy called on ministers to prioritise an early reopening of the retail, hospitality and travel sectors from the last week of November.
“Opening businesses in a controlled manner would be a far safer option than keeping everything closed and seeing restrictions ignored by the general public.
“The six weeks of Level 5 restrictions, in addition to prior weeks of restrictions in many counties, has had the desired effect of bringing about a substantial decline in the targeted metrics. Greater enforcement is required to drive the metrics down further,” McCoy said.
He called for “prior and meaningful engagement” with affected businesses to be included in government decision-making and communications.
Requesting an urgent meeting between ministers and IBEC, McCoy said that “confidence in the Plan for Living with Covid-19 and the guidance within the level restrictions is diminishing within the business community”.
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He’s not wrong.
@Stephen Ring: I was about to comment the exact same thing. Communication has become awful. The message was very clear at the beginning and everyone was onboard and followed guidance.
But now the infighting has started and sniping between organisations. The message has become muddled and politicised, so compliance has lowered with the general public.
@Stephen Ring: LOL, ya, sure what would infectious disease specialists know about pandemics.
@Brendan Cooney: he didn’t question their knowledge of pandemics, he commented on their communications abilities and processes. He isn’t wrong as any random member of NPHET seems to show up on radio chat shows most weekends, generally with a message that is contrary to the published trends and figures.
@Brendan Cooney: I believe his comments were about NPHET’s communication, which has, at the very least, been unsatisfactory.
The ever changing metrics used to support remaining at level 5 is evidence; the trend of increasing hospital and ICU cases (the reason for going to level 5) has reversed so now they use a five day average measure. It’s disingenuous.
@Stephen Ring: 5 day rate is an early warning metric which has been monitored all along. It’s only being highlighted now because the turnaround has been sudden
@Thomas O’ Donnell: the small number of days means it is inherently susceptible to outliers, and why the more stable 14 day measure has been used to define the trend and is used in the HSPC reports to NPHET.
Net admissions to ICU and hospitals are falling; that is the critical observation given level five was introduced to protect our hospitals from being overwhelmed.
Good for him. About time someone challenged the behavior and air time being given to NPHET.
We’ve no chance of exiting level 5 anyway as long as nphet are in charge of the daily figures. I’m in total agreement with Dr Jack Lambert that as an alleged scientific advisory board they should be broken up and replaced by people who actually understand the common people.
@Robert Clifford: Only two members of NPHET actually have a background in infectious diseases (Cillian de Gascun and Colm Bergin). Almost all of the rest are HSE/DoH civil servants. Are these really the people who should be dictating our response?
@Colonel Buckshot: no…
@Robert Clifford: I dont what anybody making decisions that do not underst and the issues of a pandemic.
@Gary Kearney: What are you trying to say?
He has a point. While not all the decisions made by NPHET were wrong, their communication has been patchy at best.
“Uncertainty and irritation” probably sums up the mood of the nation really, at the moment this is not living with covid(excuse the buzz phrase)
spot on from IBEC, but the recommendation will be ignored, increasingly frustrating on how the Goverments planing and reasoning is becoming more illogical
McCoy puts profit before lives back in April he was saying come winter we won’t know the difference between flu and Covid.
@tirnanog1979: you have to earn to pay for health, it’s a vicious circle
@tirnanog1979:
On that he is right, doctors can’t tell the difference between Covid symptoms and flu symptoms.
@Garry Coll: They can, there are similarities in symptoms but to date we have had very little flu this year die to covid restrictions.
@Gary Kearney: I think he was talking about early on when there was less understanding of the symptoms and before tests were available. It’s likely that cases in the early part of the year were reported as flu like symptoms by GPs.
NpHEt are definitely guilty of kite-flying and scaremongering, particularly all the many kites they’ve put out about Thousands of cases per day levels and much higher Fatalities etc. This does not serve any sector or indeed, society well given the already huge levels of anxiety, stress and mental health issues out there
@Nigel o’Neill: Kite flying, they are responding to a situation that changes daily and the kites were projected results if things did not change. Why things had to change
Surely IBEC, ISME and other business representative bodies have a direct line into govt and NPHET decision makers so that they are kept appraised re direction of travel. If they don’t then they should immediately demand one. Totally agree that we need businesses open ahead of Xmas with strict guidelines re customer facing operation. I’m sure it will happen but NPHET’s only remit and concern is public health so the onus will be on Martin and Leo to make the call ultimately and it will either be with or without NPHET’s blessing. We have to get back open to some degree.
@GrumpyAulFella: there in less the problem. Without nphet blessing then they will throw a tantrum, leak, make their own press briefings and destroy the government. Nphet are loose cannons. No public servants should be dictating, not should they talk to the press. They should be fired if they do for trying to undermine the democratic process.
@Tony Humphreys: I don’t think they are dictating. The govt makes the decisions obviously and quite rightly they are reluctant to make any decisions that contract public health guidelines for fear of a Covid disaster, which is exactly what happened in the UK. NPHET’s role is to offer public health advice. The govt’s role is to consider this, mix in all of the associated economic concerns and make a decision. Damned either way I think.
He is correct. Most sectors are trying to plan for reopening and the end of level 5 and Nphet members are out in the media scaremongering, trying to increase their relevance and taking aim at off licences and talking continued restrictions. Handy enough for them, they won’t be out of a job.
Mr McCoy is a lobbyist and his number one concern is for his clients profits, The public health team number one concern is for the general public‘s health
@George Demo: It’s not though. The Public Health Teams only concern is with the virus.
@George Demo: i would say their primary concern is protecting an inadequate hospital system. The initial objective was to flatten the curve not eliminate the virus. There is a level of this we have to live with and we need to figure the balance of how much normality we want and what cost in health outcomes we are willing to pay. NPHET haven’t provided any options in that regard to my knowledge.
@ShaneO’Mac: yes & what the virus is doing that’s NPHET job ,Most on here seem to be experts & I certainly won’t be listening to McCoy, Everybody needs & wants Businesses open but if the virus skyrockets where are we then Can Somebody please explain how we cope saying we have to live, work alongside the virus & numbers climbing & Hospitals been overwhelmed Just a question I would be interested to hear a sensible answer ( Nobody more than me wants everything back to normal )
IBEC not getting what they want and moan, nothing new there. They still want everyone on zero hour contracts and minimum waage.
Yawn….
IBEC just going through the motions of raising concerns, to have it on the record to offset members complaining that they haven’t represented their interests….
It’s an arse covering exercise and nothing more.
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