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This is a very different situation than the one we were facing into last autumn, said Micheál Martin. GARY ASHE

No decision yet on 22 Oct easing, but suggestions Covid Pass system will be extended

The Taoiseach says there is a ‘need for perspective’ but would not be drawn further on re-opening plans.

TAOISEACH MICHEÁL MARTIN says no decision has been made yet on the further easing of restrictions next week.

Speaking to reporters today at Government Buildings, the Taoiseach would not be drawn on whether the use of the Covid pass to access the likes of pubs and restaurants would be extended beyond 22 October.

“I am not going to speculate what will transpire next week,” he said, stating that government will discus this over next numbers of days before a decision is made on Tuesday. 

On 22 October all remaining Covid-19 restrictions are scheduled to be lifted, including requirements for social distancing, indoor mask-wearing and limits on numbers at events.

The changes will herald the return of businesses like nightclubs.

It is also planned that entry requirements such as vaccination certs or testing will be removed but speaking today, Minister for Higher Education Simon Harris suggested that vaccine certs may remain when nightclubs reopen. 

He said the government will be considering what can be done to make sure we open safely

“So, for example, the difference between opening with a vaccine certs and not opening,” he said.

‘Back to basics’

When asked about the possible retention of the Covid pass, Martin said the virus has not gone away and urged people to get “back to basics” in terms of hand washing and wearing face masks in some settings.

“Not everyone is adhering to the vaccine cert” protocol, said the Taoiseach, stating that sectors need to implement the system.

“That would help a lot,” he said, adding the businesses need to “redouble down” on their efforts. 

Earlier this month, the Dáil approved the extension of legislation that gives emergency powers to the Minister of Health Stephen Donnelly to keep vaccine passports for indoor dining until 9 January.

At the time, the minister was keen to stress that the extension, which effectively gives the minister the power to re-impose the regulations, was “precautionary”. 

92% vaccination rate

Speaking this afternoon, the Taoiseach said there is a need “to keep it all in perspective”, stating that the 92% adult vaccination rate will be taken into account.

Over the coming days, the government will assess the scale of the situation, he said.

Martin also urged those that are not vaccinated to take the vaccine, and urged those that have still not got their second jab to get the shot. He said it is “key to meeting the challenge”.

This is a very different situation than the one we were facing into last autumn, he added.

The booster programme has started, with Martin stating that he wants to see it continue and expanded, once NIAC delivers its recommendations.

Tánaiste Leo Varadkar told the Dáil that no decision has been made yet on the further easing, but said that up to date data will be looked at over the coming days.

He said he hopes the booster plan “comes very soon”, stating that in Israel, when Covid numbers surged post-vaccination, a wider booster programme got the numbers back down again.

He said the case for a booster programme “is stronger than ever” now, and said he looked forward to hearing NIAC’s recommendations. 

Varadkar also said that vaccines are still available and noted that it is a personal choice if a person chooses not to get vaccinated.

The Taoiseach said the government will continue to persuade people to take the vaccine.

Clarity on “what is happening with Covid” is being sought from NPHET, added Martin.

He said he is aware of the pressure that some businesses are under right now due to the uncertainty of what decision might be taken next week.

Detailed data sought

The government is seeking detailed data from health officials on the breakdown and make up of the increasing Covid-19 case numbers and hospitalisations ahead of next week’s Cabinet meeting.

It is understood ministers are now seeking additional breakdowns of the number of vaccinated people that test positive for the virus and feature in the daily case number notifications.

People who are fully vaccinated can still transmit and contract Covid-19, though their symptoms are much milder. Vaccines help prevent serious illness and death. 

Health officials are also being asked for the daily hospital figures of people that are Covid-positive patients because of the viral infection, against patients who are in hospital for an injury or other illness, but who happen to test positive for Covid-19.

The HSE today warned that it is experiencing the strain of increased Covid-19 hospitalisations heading into the winter period. 

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    Mute AnthonyK
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    Oct 1st 2024, 1:52 PM

    A precedence has been set with this. Well meaning as it is. Will not other survivors of state ineffectiveness want something similar.

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    Mute ben wu
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    Oct 1st 2024, 2:02 PM

    @AnthonyK: At a risk of sounding controversial, I think this should have been dealt with under some form of compensation or redress rather than some blanket thing.
    That it doesn’t preclude future settlements is an odd thing.
    However, I’m more onboard with the Gov actually doing something rather than nothing for those people it’s completely failed.

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    Mute Niall English
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    Oct 1st 2024, 2:00 PM

    maybe hold tony hoolahan to account? no, no, that would be too much to expect of this snide government.

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    Mute Jason Memail
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    Oct 1st 2024, 2:03 PM

    @Niall English: What specifically should he be held to account for?

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    Mute ....
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    Oct 1st 2024, 2:07 PM

    Are they going to do this for all individuals who have been failed by the state (and how is that defined)? There’s plenty of people who have suffered, including Stardust victims, people who can’t get or afford homes.

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    Mute Jason Memail
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    Oct 1st 2024, 2:06 PM

    The amount of misinformation out there around what happened with cervical check is mind-blowing. The way some people talk you’d swear that the testing service actually gave people cancer.

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    Mute Brian D'Arcy
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    Oct 1st 2024, 4:58 PM

    @Jason Memail: Quite the opposite, it didn’t tell them that they had cancer so they didn’t receive the treatment they needed, in a nutshell

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    Mute Jason Memail
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    Oct 2nd 2024, 12:37 AM

    @Brian D’Arcy: That’s absolutely false, and part of the misinformation that’s common on this subject. 1) These women received tests from cervical check which told them that cancer cells were not present. 2) These women subsequently developed cancer, and a review of their original tests was carried out. 3) The reviews showed that the earlier tests missed what may have been cancerous cells, with these reviews aided by the fact that the reviewers knew what they were looking for, since the patients had developed cancer.

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    Mute Jason Memail
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    Oct 2nd 2024, 12:37 AM

    @Jason Memail: 4) The decision was made, and this is the real crux of the issue, not to go back and tell those women that the earlier tests missed the potentially cancerous cells, mainly because what good would it do? They now had cancer and knowing an earlier test missed it wouldn’t change that. 5) Overall, the suggestion that cervical check didn’t tell these people they had cancer is demonstrably false, because the only reason the reviews were carried out on the initial tests is because they had cancer, which they knew about. 6) Going back and checking original tests when something like this happens is standard practice, and the right thing to do in order to improve future testing, but

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    Mute Jason Memail
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    Oct 2nd 2024, 12:37 AM

    @Jason Memail: 7) you can argue whether or not it was the right decision not to inform people about what the earlier tests missed, but it would not and could not have changed the fact that they now, sadly, had cancer, and 8) Knowing that an earlier test missed something could not have allowed them to start treatment earlier, because it’s in the oast. 9) If you want to know the specifics of it, I’d suggest checking out care2much on Twitter, who has written some incredibly detailed threads on the subject.

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    Mute silvery moon
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    Oct 1st 2024, 4:59 PM

    While this is welcome and like one commentor said that it should have been done with compensation.
    As a survivor of the industrial state/religious run institutions we never got compensation we were give an “Award” as if we won something, we cannot get enhanced medical cards that the survivors from the mother and baby home were afforded, we cannot get a contributary pension even though we had to work in these institutions, we now get another slap in the face by being excluded from theses tax benefits. I live in a council house and am grateful for that, I live with my ill husband and disabled totally dependant 23 year old son was told that I can purchase the house for a minimum of between 60 and 80 thousand euro, cannot get a mortgage as my husband is 70 as the cut off is 69 and we’ve have no where to go to help buy the house so our disabled son would have a roof over his head if anything happened to us.

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