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LAST UPDATE | 17 Nov 2021
CHIEF MEDICAL OFFICER Dr. Tony Holohan has said the “responsible thing” for public health was not to plan “major socialisation events” like Christmas parties.
Holohan said this evening that the spread of Covid-19 in this country and the pressure on healthcare services meant that normal levels of Christmas socialising was not advisable.
“We really do not have the capacity as a country to have significant Christmas-type levels of socialisation in the run into Christmas if we’re if we’re to turn this around,” Holohan told The Hard Shoulder on Newstalk.
I think a very responsible thing for people who are in a position, whether they’re organising Christmas parties or where they’re responsible for the health and well-being and welfare of their staff and their customers, a responsible thing to do would be to conclude that now is not is not an ideal time to be planning major socialisation events that don’t need to happen.
Asked about weddings that may be planned in the forthcoming weeks, Holohan said that weddings are a “different situation” as they “an important milestone” and are planned long in advance
His comments come as a senior minister said earlier that “last thing” the government wants is tough restrictions in the run up to Christmas.
Minister for Foreign Affairs Simon Coveney said the government will assess the impact of the measures in the coming weeks to see “whether we’ve done enough” but that further restrictions can’t be ruled out.
The Deputy CMO Dr Ronan Glynn said this evening that up to 200,000 people could be infected in December but that it is not “inevitable”.
Glynn told Six One on RTÉ there is no “silver bullet” to prevent the surge in cases: “It’s really important, I think, to move the commentary away from what has been part of the commentary . . . that there’s a silver bullet, that antigen testing is going to sort this out, that boosters vaccines are going to sort this out, that more PCR testing is going to sort this out.”
Instead, he said method such as mask wearing, cutting down social contacts and avoiding crowded locations will help prevent the spread of infection.
Earlier today, Holohan warned that the new measures introduced by government would not be sufficient if people who were symptomatic ignored the advice to self-isolate and avail of a PCR test.
Holohan said that NPHET modelling showed that there could be a minimum of 200,000 cases of Covid-19 across the month of December but that this was “not inevitable” if people followed public health advice.
Holohan said that he was not predicting the number of cases as they were preventable but that it could be “double” that 200,000 figure.
Over the past two weeks, over 55,000 cases of Covid-19 have been confirmed in this country, leading to an increase in people hospitalised with the virus.
“We think that about 2%, in other words 20 out of every 1,000, of those cases might occur will end up in hospital. All cases will be advised to restrict to self-isolate, and their contacts will be advised to restrict their movements,” Holohan told RTÉ’s News at One.
That’s a lot of people in hospital potentially 4000 or more. It’s a lot of people being asked to self isolate and restrict movements, none of those people are infected yet.
“A time of year when none of us wants to be faced with going into hospital or having a loved one going into hospital. None of us wants to be faced with being advised to restrict our movements or to self isolate.”
He added: “If you’re going to have an infection in December that infection hasn’t been picked up yet, so a minimum of 200,000 cases occurring in December, all of which are preventable.”
Public health measures
A number of measures were announced yesterday as part of efforts to stem Covid cases in hospital, among them a new midnight end for pubs and nightclubs and the reimposition of advice that people should work from home unless it’s “absolutely necessary”.
In a further move which attempts to limit the spread of the virus, anyone living in a household of someone who is a confirmed case of Covid-19 is to be asked to restrict their movements for five days.
Speaking last night after the measures were announced, Taoiseach Micheál Martin said that NPHET had advised on the measures but that it could not be guaranteed that they would be sufficient to bring cases to a manageable level.
Asked today was the government therefore delaying the inevitability that further restrictions would be required, Foreign Affairs Minister Simon Coveney said he doesn’t believe this to be the case.
“No, I hope not but of course we will have to wait and see how the virus behaves and the numbers in ICU and the numbers in hospital, we are predicting now that somewhere between 1,000 to 2,000 people could be in hospital with Covid and the numbers in ICU could could go above 200. That puts huge pressure on our system,” he said.
Speaking about the new restrictions, he said:
This is about trying to avoid a more severe restrictions on people. It’s about effectively recalibrating our response and recognising that large numbers of people in nightclubs and late night bars is a risk factor that we think it’s responsible to remove for now.
Coveney said that he’s aware that the effective curfew on nightclubs will have consequences on the sector but that “it’s not the job of government not to make popular decisions”.
“I think it’s the right decision, we can’t rule out further restriction and we will simply have to follow the behavior of this virus in the weeks ahead to see whether we’ve done enough to protect society through winter, or whether we need to do more,” he added.
“But certainly the last thing the government wants is another severe series of restrictions in the build up to Christmas.”
You can’t provide guarantees on anything when it comes to Covid, that’s surely one thing we’ve learned, we’ve all learned over the last 18 months or so. And we have to respond to the evidence as it’s presented.
The minister said that in the coming weeks people will see “an acceleration of boosters” and that he has spoken to his counterpart in Israel who outlined the effectiveness of boosters in preventing hospitalisations.
In his interview this afternoon, Holohan outlined what people who are syptmoatic and close contacts of a confirmed case should do.
“People who are cases and who are symptomatic, they simply must self-isolate and they get a PCR test, not an antigen test a PCR test. So if you have symptoms, stay at home, arrange for a PCR test, and if those people can comply with the advice to self isolation, and the people who are their close to contacts particularly those who live with them, can restrict their movements and be antigen tested as they restrict those movements, we think that is the behaviour that is most important.”
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Why is the manufacturer of the blocks not taking some liability
@John O Reilly: because they’re too busy building a brand new estate from the council and even using the same quarry…. An absolute joke!
It must be heartbreaking for the people involved. I built a house myself 20 years ago as a single guy and without doubt its one of the most satisfying things I’ve achieved in my life. If for something like this to shatter that achievement I would be devastated. My heart goes out to the families involved and I hope they get fully compensated for something that wasn’t their fault. Even then it still takes from calling it their dream home. Good luck with your fight.
@James Fox: Clearly they deserve better. As an aside I’ve very jealous of you. I’d love to be able to build my own house but the current housing climate and planning laws make it impossible. Well done. I’m sure you get a sense of immense pride every time you step though the threshold.
What were the consequences for the companies who provided this product in the first place. Why aren’t they footing the bill? Where is the regulation?
@Neil Ryan: Where is homeowners insurance in this?
@Contrary Mary: why should insurer / goverment foot the bill for a substandard product being sold? This is not an act of nature, accident, fire, illness.
@Contrary Mary: Don’t you mean the building contractor, the block company and the sand quarry. Why should ones house insurance be used by the way the insurance is keeping well away from this once again.I fear the only way is to bring all to civil court
@Neil Ryan: Cassidy’s changed their name and Company to avoid any liability. Still supplying blocks/bricks around Donegal and getting away with it.
@Thomas Armstrong: It is required in order to have a mortgage, to protect the bank’s investment. This is a time I would support the use of insurance, as insurance company’s have the money to go after those who have absconded from their responsibility to sell a safe abode.
Terrible situation for these people… who manufactured these concrete blocks? I dont know much about the whole affair..
@John Bathe: cassidys in falcaragh
@John Martin: cassidys buncrana
@John Bathe: Cassidy’s, Letterkenny. They have multiple businesses around Donegal. They are a total disgrace. #boycottCassidy.
I live in a mica house and it’s falling down. The issue I have is that I paid VAT to the government for the materials and services 20 years ago and now I have to pay VAT again for the replacement materials. Also windows are not covered in the scheme. I am expected to build a house that complies with current building standards and then put 20 year old windows back in. There’s a role for SEAI to step in here and ensure that these new builds have a good energy rating. Any builders that I’ve spoken to reckon that I’ll have to put in an additional €100K to get the same house.
@Cheeky Charlie: this is insane and I feel terrible for you, and others in your situation. What in the actual what is wrong with this completely bleeped up government? I have never seen such an incompetent bunch. When’s the next election again?
The state has a long history of doing the least they can when faced this type of issue.
Why is the states problem? The issue is with the suppliers of the building materials and sure home insurance has a role to pay. While I empathise with the home owners the state cannot always be the solution.
@Paul Murphy: the supplier changed its name so they can’t be touched and our houses aren’t covered for insurance.
@Paul Murphy: apparently the defective bricks complied with the government set regulations, it is a case of manufacturing defects and inadequate regulation. Both are liable and should compensate the house owners for restitution and for the impact this has had on their lives. What kind of legal system do we have when a person gets €122k for a dog bite, but people living in crumbling ruins due to faulty bricks are given the runaround for years.
@Paul Murphy: That’s only 1 case your talking about -The country is full will house/Homes in very bad conditions and damaging to the families health that live in these dilapidated conditions- Guaranteed no goverment td has to live like that nor do there kids – grandkids ……..
@Jules: How can regulation be faulty if at the time of publication it was the best standard that was available. Its the same with the whole emissions from cars thing, the cars met the regulations and the manufacturer was found liable but the regulators who set the standard were not at fault. Can’t see why insurance won’t pay up given no one knowingly built a house with faulty raw materials. If not its the building federation that need to be,addressed as it was their members who source and built with faulty material, not the government
@dubirishHerbguy: Again if there is failure on the part of the service provider the case is with the and the umbrella group that guarantees their work, not the government . The plans etc must have met with regulation at the time of build otherwise mortgage approval wouldn’t have been issued. By some of the logic here the banks could be liable for providing funds for faulty buildings have ensured that regulation had been followed
@Paul Murphy: the fact of the matter is this, the block supplier no longer exist, they shut down that company and stuck the word ‘bros’ at the end and operate now as normal, from the same quarry. All the while they put out a statement to say they complied with regulations at the time. If the regulations said that there cannot be more than 1% mica in blocks, then how did my blocks come back a mica percentage of 9%? And my Newton block strength come back at 1.1nm when the regulation at the time stated it needs to be 7.5nm and now 10nm?
@JimD: My house needs demolished and rebuilt from the founds up, I have to now pay 10% of this, continue to pay my mortgage, pay rent in another property, if I can find one and pay storage costs. And yes I called my bank last week, they said they never heard of it despite policians stating they need to help, and yes I called my insurance, but guess what, they don’t cover defective material…. So tell me, where do we turn?
@Jules: The grading of bricks / blocks came afterwards. But no way the State are liable. I don’t care if a company changed their name go after the owners this country just can’t have loopholes for everyone.
@Thomas Armstrong: there are regulations in place in this country since the 1940′s regarding building material standards. It’s the government’s job to oversee and enforce these regulations. They did not do this. They are supposed to test samples of every batch of blocks produced. They did not do this. And you think it’s not the government’s fault?
The government write the laws for this country. They produced legislation which allowed a company liable for producing substandard blocks to change names which leaves them protected against any legal action. And you think it’s not the government’s fault?
@Paul Murphy: seriously? Why then did state stump up 100% redress including temporary rental accommodation for pyrite affected families? Read the comments the supplier took easy way out went out of business at 5pm 1 day opened up at 8an next day changed name.
@Paul Murphy: its the state’s responsibility to regulate industries. There are building standards and regulations to be adhered to. The state cannot allow companies to destroy people’s lives then simply shut up shop and start a new company like nothing ever happened.
There is something fundamentally wrong with how building companies are allowed set up subsidiary companies for a project build and then shut it down not long after with no responsibility to the faults that have arisen and then home bound is useless and you can’t claim the builders insurance as by that stage the subsidiary has been folded and they move on to next project
There are hundreds of houses in Co. Mayo badly affected especialy in the Ballina/Killala area, what the people affected with Pyrite in Donegal and Mayo is the same terms as those in Dublin and the east got. 100% money and the cost of rental accomadation and storage costs, they are being offered 90% but rental accomadation and storrage must be footed by the homeowner.
Blocks manufactured by Smiths quarry, Mullafarry, Killala
If I buy a faulty product from a shop, I can return it and get a full refund. Why does the same legal system protect cowboy builders from being held accountable to the house owner. Are the legislators at fault or are they protecting the builders from selling faulty products. The taxpayer should be the last people to pay up. Why are builders allowed to continue to build houses when they don’t have proper insurance in place to cover such cases. I sympathize with these people but by trying to get the legislators to sort it, the ones who created the problem, they are barking up the wrong tree. Get together and take a test case against these builders or the Govt will continue to fleece the taxpayer for their mistakes.
@Barrycelona: block manufacturers has effectively closed and reopened under a new name. builders bought materials in good faith.
council didnt bother testing the materials produced ( good old light touch regulation).
homebond wont cover it as far as I’ve heard.
@Barrycelona: the issue is that’s it’s not the builders fault, it’s the supplier of the blocks. Numerous test cases have been taken against them to no avail as the company/quarry changed names so on paper the company that supplied the blocks cannot be held liable in court as they no longer exist.
The gov are also at fault as there are regulations against what occurred, each batch of blocks should have been tested but these test were not carried out and the regulations were not enforced by the council’s and government regulatory bodies.
This issue isn’t just large developments by contractors and builders, it effects self build houses and one off properties.
@Barrycelona:
What about the blocklayer who built his own houes which is now affeected with pyrite?
@Barrycelona: you cannot take a group case in the Irish courts
@Padhraic McLaughlin: Padhraic, If there are regulations in place, surely legislators can implement those regulations because they are on the statute books. If they are not sufficient, that is the fault of the legislators and have they tried to learn from their mistakes and updated. Cowboys over the years have thought us all about their scams and we still, orthe legislators either have learnt nothing or they are too happy to take the easy way out and charge the taxpayer. Would it be possible to get a team of solicitors and go through the older legislation and update it. Just think of the money you could save by making the cowboys pay and the number of Hospitals you could build with it
Why would taxpayers money be used for this.
@Paul Dolan: if you were living in an affected home id guess you would know why. The home owners have no other fall back or compensation available. The whole situation stinks but homeowners need gov support. Precedence was set for pyrite issue that happened across the east coast.
@Paul Dolan: I would rather my taxpayers money be used to fix houses affected by this than to facilitate people sitting around all day doing nothing with their lives and being voluntary unemployed.
@Fi Wyse: I’m just enquiring why tax payers money is to be used. They all has engineers who had to give reports to the banks to satisfy mortgage release. Why not sue them. They all had insurance.
@Paul Dolan:
One of the reasons is the problem did not surface for a number of years afterwards, when inspected by the engineers after them being build they would have being perfect. Think allso that some houses that was built at the same time with blocks from the same quarry are fine.
@Fi Wyse: Very noble of you! If you won the euromillions maybe you could put them all on a floating island and push them all out to sea. The Govt are lucky to have you. Pay up first and ask the searching questions later, much later
@Paul Dolan: There are regulations against what occurred but these regulations were not enforced by the regulatory bodies. The council were supposed to carry out tests on each batch of blocks made as per regulations and this did not occur. The block manufacturers (Cassidy Bros) changed names and directors there for on paper the company that manufactured the blocks no longer exists so can’t be held liable.
That is why the Gov need to step up and be held accountable, they create the laws to allow companies like Cassidys escape responsibility and they are the body that don’t enforce their own regulations!
I really wish that I won the EuroMillions last night so that I could use the ridiculous amount of money to fix these houses it’s just so unfair that people are left in the situation.
Well the block supplier, the quarry that made & sold the defective blocks availed of the age old irish solution, go out of business & reopen next day with slightly altered name
have your say