Shocking Bus Éireann to Shut Down of Routes A Sign that Government is Operating on the Blind – Tóibín
The radical decision to shut down Bus Routes between practically all the major Cities in Ireland is according to An Teachta Tóibín “a disaster”. The Aontú and Meath West TD stated;
“That a country cannot operate a public transport system between its major urban areas is a clear sign of crisis. That passengers will not have access to public transport between Dublin-Cork, Dublin-Limerick, Dublin-Galway routes and Dublin-Belfast is enormously damaging. Access to private transport will now for many determine their ability to circulate throughout the country. The government restrictions are wiping out whole swathes of healthcare, business, the economy and society. Its having an enormous effect”.
My concern is and I have been saying this for months, there is no research as to cost of the government strategy in terms of mortality and morbidity rates in the health care sector or in terms of damage being done on society and the economy. There is no plan other than to react to each week’s figures. There is no medium to long term plan other than to hope for a vaccine that may not arrive for years and there is no exit plan.
It is clear that citizens should take precautions, be careful, keep socially distant and work from home if possible. Its clear that we need to do our best to keep the numbers down. But severe restrictions must be informed by research on their effects on all of society. That research is not happening. The government is making decisions without the full facts. They are making decisions on the blind. If it continues to do so more and more key services will see unplanned collapses such as the Bus Eireann shut down.
