333 Days After the First Covid Case in Ireland and Still the Dept has not Published Airport Protection Plans – Tóibín
Speaking in the Dáil today Aontú Leader & Meath West TD Peadar Tóibín has said the government is recklessly slow is implementing real protections at ports and airports.An Teachta Tóibín stated:
“Last year when Covid-19 first arrived in Ireland I asked the then Taoiseach Leo Varadkar to stop flights coming from Northern Italy. At the time, both Australia and America had done so as a preventative measure”.
“Taoiseach Varadkar said no. When I asked him why he would not stop flights from Northern Italy potentially carrying Covid-19 into the country – he said because the ECDC have said they shouldn’t. When I followed up and asked what was the rationale for the ECDC’s decision? He confessed, he did not know”.
“I was completely shocked that the Leader of a country would implement a decision of a foreign organisation on a life and death issue with out understanding the rationale for the decision. The flights from Northern Italy arrived, the illness was well seeded and we saw the massive increase in the number of Covid figures in the state.”
“FF Minister Michael McGrath stated yesterday that international travel is not a large contributor to the rate of Covid-19 across the country. However, he then went on to say that the British Variant of the disease now make up 63% of the Covid-19 Cases in Ireland. You simply could not make it up. Its clear that the government still don’t get it”.
“My Office has just gotten off the phone with Department of Foreign Affairs this morning. We were told that documents on quarantining & travel advice have not been officially released & we can't get them at this time. 333 days since the 1st Covid case landed in Ireland, after all the talk on this issue, after all the reports and this government have still not published a logical protective response for our ports and airports."
