Summer livin’
»Hope for live gigs and sport »Pilot events success is key
MICHEAL Martin said we could see more people at matches and gigs next month as the road out of lockdown could be “accelerated” if everything goes to plan.
The Taoiseach added if upcoming sport and cultural pilot events were successful, the programme may be expanded.
Speaking in Cork, Mr Martin said: “The vaccine is very effective and we’re seeing a fall in the hospitalisation numbers, the ICU numbers are well down, they’re going down.
“The impact is really positive, so let’s keep with this…… we’ve just got to take it step by step, as we have been.
“I think every month we’ve made progress. I heard the Minister for Sport (Jack Chambers) outlining the conditions for trial sports events.
“That is about seeing what’s possible and hopefully expanding and opening up sports for spectators in July.
“So I think if the trial events go well, we can look forward, perhaps, to accelerating spectators at various events. I think that’s very important because I think it could make a great summer for people.”
The Government also wants to see most workers return to the office.
This was discussed in the run-up to the latest easing of restrictions announcement last month.
Tanaiste Leo Varadkar and Mr Martin have confirmed it is being considered.
The Taoiseach said: “As you have seen all along the way we were able to do things in June that we didn’t signal we would do a month earlier.
“We were able to do more than we signalled and likewise, I think by the end of this month we might be able to do more than we signalled for August.
“That could mean the return of some workers to the offices by the end of August.”
However, Mr Martin also said he was “concerned” at the public order problems in Dublin and elsewhere over the weekend and he paid tribute to gardai for their response.
He said: “We were very concerned about that. That said, the vast majority of people behaved. I believe Covid has created new realities and it’s made it very difficult for many, many people.
“I’d like to pay tribute to An Garda Siochana. They have worked extremely hard during Covid-19.
“It hasn’t been easy for the gardai either because they’re being asked to do things they wouldn’t normally be asked to do.
“It’s been a strange period for them too in terms of the restrictions they have to enforce.
“So I want to pay tribute to them and to the manner in which they’ve gone about their work. I think it was a very small minority that engaged in that type of activity.
“Because the vast, vast majority of people as we saw from the scenes yesterday simply wanted to go in, sit down, have a meal, enjoy themselves and the vast majority did just that.
“And I think things will settle down and level out.”
Yesterday, the HSE said there had been a further 271 new cases of Covid-19, with 77 people in hospital. Meanwhile, authorities in the North recorded their first 24 hours without a Covid patient in intensive care for 10 months.