‘No logic’ to restrictions to ban on home visits – Councillor

ENNISCORTHY Counsellor, Jackser Owens, has said there is ‘ no logic’ to the current enhanced level 3 restrictions imposed in County Wexford and added that he is ‘ totally opposed to them’.

Speaking to this newspaper Cllr Owens said the enhanced restrictions which came into affect at midnight on Thursday are illogical.

‘It’s 100 per cent wrong that people cannot go an visit their loved ones but people are still allowed to fly into the country,’ he said.

‘It just doesn’t make sense to me at all,’ he added.

‘ There are 900 children in the local school, there are classes of 30 in our schools, but no-one can go to one another’s house.’

Cllr Owens said there are already issues around mental health in the community and the enhanced restrictions will not help.

‘ There are older people out there in the community who cannot have their family visit them and that’s wrong,’ he said.

‘You can’t go an meet your mother in her house but you can go an meet her for a cup of tea,’ he added.

Cllr Owens also questioned ‘what exactly is essential travel or business’ and said he was contacted by a large amount of people who are anxious about the new restrictions.

‘ The amount of people who rang me worried about this is a lot,’ he said.

Cllr Owens said grandparents are anxious because their grandchildren can’t come and visit them.

‘People can come in her on a boat or fly into the country but you cannot go an visit family,’ he said.

‘No-one should be able to fly into the country on holidays, whatever about on business, and people should not be able to come into the country on holidays through the ports at the moment,’ he added.

Cllr Owens went on to comment: ‘When you have people coming in on holidays but you cannot visit loved ones then there is something wrong. How they come up with these things I do not know.’

‘I fully believe this is wrong,’ he said.

He said one constituent who spoke to him was very upset because her mother was not able to come to visit and added ‘ there is a lot of pressure on people at the moment’.

‘If there is an older person living across the road you can’t go and visit them to make sure they’re ok and that’s wrong,’ said Cllr Owens.

He also criticised the fact that elite sports was allowed to continue while such restrictions on the general public were in place.

‘ That competitive sport but you can’t open your door to a loved one, well that’s just wrong,’ he said.