*Photograph: Brian Arthur
Health Minister Stephen Donnelly’s (FF) position is no longer tenable, a Clare TD has said.
Management of the COVID-19 pandemic across the country has been described by Deputy Michael McNamara (IND) as an abject failure.
New restrictions were introduced by the Government this week with Minister Donnelly refusing to rule out the potential of further lockdowns over the coming months.
Speaking to The Clare Echo, McNamara said of the Health Minister, “I think at this stage, he has to go”. The Scariff native outlined, “During the summer we had more restrictions than any other place in Europe and now our transmission rates are among the highest in Europe, I am not blaming Stephen Donnelly or the Government for COVID-19 no more than I’d blame them for an Earthquake but I am blaming them that there has been no increase in our health capacity”. He added, “enough is enough”.
Record-breaking numbers of patients waiting on trolleys at University Hospital Limerick were also referenced by McNamara, on Tuesday 95 patients were waiting for trolleys at UHL, the highest tally ever recorded. “It is worse than ever,” he stated.
That Ireland had one of the highest vaccination rates in Europe was acknowledged by the former Chair of the Dáil’s COVID-19 committee.
Comments from Professor Philip Nolan, a senior member of the National Public Health Emergency Team (NPHET) which described antigen testing as “snake oil” was pinpointed by Deputy McNamara following a new policy that household contacts of a person with COVID will have to restrict their movements for five days and take three antigen tests.
This reversal was described by McNamara as “inexplicable”. He believed vaccine certs gave a false sense of security with many people saying the same thing about antigen tests. “They are relatively cheap and easy to use”.
McNamara was unable to comprehend why antigen tests had not been recommended sooner. “It would be like not distributing condoms during a HIV pandemic,” he said.
