Our compliance is beginning to fray
Opposition chiefs call to accelerate reopening
THE Government is under pressure to accelerate the reopening of the country with Fianna Fáil leader, Michéal Martin warning the Taoiseach that ‘compliance is fraying.’
The Fianna Fáil leader accused the Government of ‘settling into a quite rigid’ approach to deciding on changes and steps in the roadmap for lifting the lockdown restrictions.
He was backed by Labour leader Alan Kelly, who called for the timing of some aspects of the roadmap to be ‘brought forward’, saying all travel limits should be lifted at the end of this month.
Green Party leader Eamon Ryan also called for an easing on travel restrictions, adding that the move would have a significant impact on the tourism industry.
Mr Martin said that some people in communities are breaking restrictions, and that people who are abiding by the rules feel their efforts are being undermined.
He told the Dáil: ‘There is simply no doubt that compliance is fraying – and the biggest problem with this is that it is highly divisive.
‘The majority continue to fully respect the guidelines, and the tension between those who ignore the guidelines and those who feel a threat to their health cannot be ignored. While we cannot be guided only by practice in other countries, it falls to our Government to explain when the policies we are pursuing differ significantly from those in place in other countries.’
He added that ‘we are currently in the absurd situation where it is easier for an Irish person to plan a holiday in much of Europe than it is to plan one here’. While the Taoiseach cautioned against speeding up the pace at which the country moves out of the lockdown, he told the Dáil: ‘We have made proposals to the Chief Medical Officer [Tony Holohan] and NPHET about bringing things forward from [Phases] Four and Three and Three and Two. NPHET is considering the proposals and Government will make a decision on that on Friday morning [today] and inform the public on Friday afternoon.’
Mr Kelly said that a long as the Covid-19 cases remain low, the Labour Party wants the five-phase plan to reopen the country to be reduced to four, with all restrictions lifted on July 20.
Mr Kelly said: ‘Given where we are now… we need to look at what is now common sense. How we can live with this virus and how we can bring forward some aspects of the roadmap which I think everybody now believes, to some degree, should happen.’