Bill Gates I am Not You Experiment stated on signs at London Lockdown Protests
Important Information about COVID-19, Viruses, PCR Testing, Wearing Masks and COVID-19 Vaccines
Doctor Reveals the Corona Effect – Claims COVID is Blood Coagulation
A mysterious blood-clotting complication is killing coronavirus patients
Once thought a relatively straightforward respiratory virus, covid-19 is proving to be much more frightening
https://inltv.co.uk/index.php/truth-about-vaccines
Daniel Cregg article: breakingnews.ie breaks EU law: illegal photo, address and name published and listed on the Internet. EU articles of fundamental Human Rights.
Code of practice violations (the Irish Press Council) by Irish media
Irish Law violations by Irish media
EU Law violations by Irish media
by Daniel Cregg Aug 2023.
The following Irish media newspapers and publications are breaking Irish law, EU law, International law and the Irish Press Council code of practice in sensitive court cases by allowing media to publish the name, photo and address of an individual or persons:
Irish Independent Newspaper
Sunday World
The Code of practice of the Irish Press Council principles violated:
“Principle 8 − Prejudice The press shall not publish material intended or likely to cause grave offence or stir up hatred against an individual or group on the basis of their race, religion, nationality, colour, ethnic origin, membership of the travelling community, gender, sexual orientation, marital status, disability, illness or age.” [2]
“Principle 4 − Respect for Rights Everyone has constitutional protection for his or her good name. The press shall not knowingly publish matter based on malicious misrepresentation or unfounded accusations, and must take reasonable care in checking facts before publication”.
Again another violation is “ Principle 8 − Prejudice” under “...sexual orientation….disability, illness...“.
Under Irish law “Fundamental rights under the Irish Constitution” it states:
"...The right to fair procedures
The courts and all public bodies or persons making decisions that affect your constitutional rights must treat you fairly. Two of the essential components of fair procedures in this context are:
The person making the decision that affects you should not be biased or appear to be biased.
You must be given an adequate opportunity to present your case. You must be informed of the matter and you must be given a chance to comment on the material put forward by the other side.
Bodily integrity
You have a right not to have your body or person unjustifiably interfered with. A person can only interfere with your body with a valid justification and in a proportionate manner. Similarly, you have a right not to be subjected to torture, inhumane or degrading treatment." [3]
The Irish Human Rights & Equality Commission and the EU Agency for Fundamental Human Rights were contacted multiple times regarding the specific violations with little to no help provided [4[[1]
Additional violations found in a complex court case:
Under the “EU Charter of Fundamental Rights”, the following articles have been violated in the Irish Republic by media:
Human dignity is inviolable. It must be respected and protected.
Article 3 - Right to integrity of the person
1. Everyone has the right to respect for his or her physical and mental integrity.
No one shall be subjected to torture or to inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment.”
Article 6 - Right to liberty and security
Everyone has the right to liberty and security of person.
Article 7 - Respect for private and family life
Everyone has the right to respect for his or her private and family life, home and communications.
Article 15 - Freedom to choose an occupation and right to engage in work
1. Everyone has the right to engage in work and to pursue a freely chosen or accepted occupation.
2. Every citizen of the Union has the freedom to seek employment, to work, to exercise the right of establishment and to provide services in any Member State...” [1]
Due to photos, names and addresses being published by media as a result of sensitive court cases it can affect the persons right to get employment, and find accommodation also.
What was put forward to the Irish Human Rights Commission is what happens in Ireland when the above laws/practice codes have been violated? Does the state have an obligation to look into the matter and then prosecute the offending newspapers? In addition the Irish state itself may have to modify the law to prevent media from further violations and misleading/inaccurate word usage, and safety violations to individuals when photographs, full names and addresses are being published.
Article by Daniel Cregg
Editor/Researcher INL News Group
References:
[1] https://fra.europa.eu/en/eu-charter/title/title-i-dignity
[2] https://www.presscouncil.ie/press-council-of-ireland/code-of-practice
[4] www.ihrec.ie
Thousands of protesters have descended on London to protest the British government’s ongoing coronavirus restrictions. Though pubs and shops have reopened, stiff limits on gatherings remain in place.
Holding signs reading “Freedom is non-negotiable” and “No health passports,” the demonstrators gathered in the capital on Saturday.
Billed by its organizers as the “biggest street party London has ever seen,” the rally drew thousands of participants unhappy with the lingering restrictions on gatherings and movement, and opposed to the government’s vague plans to introduce so-called ‘vaccine passports’.
Actor and mayoral candidate Laurence Fox, who has promised to do away with Covid-19 restrictions entirely if elected, was an enthusiastic participant.
Posting videos of hordes of people marching through the streets, he decried the “total corrupt stream media blackout” of the protest.
Anti-lockdown protests have happened all over the world in the past, but the mainstream media has mostly failed to report.
As of mid-afternoon, the mood seemed jovial. Though gatherings of such a large scale are still forbidden under the UK’s lockdown rules, the mostly maskless crowd marched freely through the city.
Unlike protests by climate activists over the preceding days, Saturday’s march was largely ignored by the mainstream media, with only a handful of British tabloids dedicating short stories to the demonstration.
The protesters themselves accused the media of ignoring “hundreds of thousands” of marchers and their demands.
However, nailing down a more accurate attendance figure than “thousands” was not immediately possible.
‘Public confidence is gone’ –
Labour leader reacts to Health Minister’s appearance on Claire Byrne Live
Minister for Health Stephen Donnelly fuels confusion over return to schools
Business owners have hit out at the Government’s handling of the Covid-19 pandemic after Cabinet agreed to keep the country in lockdown until at least April 5.
Texas Ends Covid Mask Mandate, Lifts All Anti-Virus Restrictions, Allows All Businesses To Reopen
For 30 million Texans, the lockdown nightmare is over, at least for now.
Greg Abbott - Texas Governor
Ends Lockdown and Mandatory Mask Wearing 2nd March, 2021
With the CDC still scrambling to find any pretext to extend draconian lockdown measures and the new CDC director explicitly urging states not to relax restrictions, on Tuesday Texas Governor Greg Abbott defied the organization whose politicization has become a stamp of humiliation, and announced that the second-largest US state will lift the mask mandate and all other anti-pandemic restrictions amid declining hospitalizations and infection rates.
Effective March 10, all businesses will be allowed to open at 100% of capacity, Abbott said during a media briefing in Lubbock on Tuesday. His executive order allows county judges to reinstate anti-virus rules should hospitalizations surge.
“Too many Texans have been sidelined from employment opportunities; too many small-business owners have struggled to pay their bills,” the Republican governor said. “It is now time to open Texas 100%.”...Greg Abbott Governor of Texas, 2nd March 2021
Gemma O'Doherty and John Waters Speaking About Their Irish Appeal Judgement heard before he President of the Court of Appeal Mr Justice George Birmingham, Ms Justice John Edwards and Ms Justice Caroline Costello.
The High Court dismissed their case earlier this year, as it found they had not put forward facts or expert opinion to support their case.
In his judgment last May refusing leave for judicial review, Mr Justice Charles Meenan said their claims were not arguable and they had not provided any expert evidence or facts to support their view the laws were disproportionate or unconstitutional.
The appeal, which is opposed by the State, is also against the awarding of costs of the hearing against them. It is being heard by the President of the Court of Appeal Mr Justice George Birmingham, Ms Justice John Edwards and Ms Justice Caroline Costello.
Ms O'Doherty claimed State parties had embarked on a completely new path never tested before in medical and scientific history by locking down the 99% of the population who are healthy.
This was to deal with the "common cold" which, she claimed, is what Covid-19 is.
Gemma O'Doherty and John Waters Speaking About Alternative Media Not Being Allowed-Into Irish Appeal Court So the mainstream media owned nd controlled by the powerful Ruling Elite such as people like George Soros, are the only ones that are approved to cover what goes on inside court cases that the result are important to te welfare of the Irish People ... " I have usually been dealing with one to three mainstream media journalists in these matters and I would not trust anyone of them ..."...John Waters.... "...even the Irish Garda try to demand that journalists provide an Official Press Badge, when these days theere are no such thing.... all there is ... is a Journalist Union Pass which is a close shop and it is illegal for a garda to demand that a journalist produce a Press Type Badge to a Closed Shop....".... John Waters , former Irish Times Journalist and well known author.
https://johnwaters.substack.com/about
John Waters is an Irish Thinker, Talker, and Writer. From the life of the spirit of society to the infinite reach of rock ‘n’ roll; from the puzzle of the human ‘I’ to the true nature of money; from the attempted murder of fatherhood to the slow death of the novel, he speaks and writes about the meaning of life in the modern world.
He began part-time work as a journalist in 1981, with Hot Press, Ireland’s leading rock ‘n’ roll magazine and went full-time in 1984, when he moved from the Wild West to the capital, Dublin. As a journalist, magazine editor and columnist, he specialised from the start in raising unpopular issues of public importance, including the psychic cost of colonialism and the denial of rights to fathers under what is called family 'law'. He was a columnist with The Irish Times for 24 years when being Ireland's premier newspaper still meant something. He left in 2014 when this had come to mean diddly-squat, and drew the blinds fully on Irish journalism a year later.
Since then, his articles have appeared in publications such as First Things, frontpagemag.com, The Spectator, and The Spectator USA. He has published ten books, the latest, Give Us Back the Bad Roads (2018), being a reflection on the cultural disintegration of Ireland since 1990, in the form of a letter to his late father.
He is to boot a sometime playwright and songwriter, husband of Rita, father of Róisín, brother of three sisters, step-granddad of angels, nationist, civilizationalist and lapsed agnostic. He was born in County Roscommon, belongs to Sligo and lives in Dublin.
INVESTIGATIVE JOURNALIST - Documentary Filmmaker
Gemma O’Doherty is a multi award-winning journalist whose work has shone a light on some of the darkest corners of Irish life. Former Chief Features writer at the Irish Independent, where she worked for almost 20 years, she has exposed many cases of murder and child sexual abuse that have been covered up by An Garda Siochana and the State.
A Masters’ graduate from UCD, she was the first journalist to support the work of Garda whistleblowers Maurice McCabe and John Wilson and revealed how former Garda Commissioner Martin Callinan had abused road safety laws for his own personal gain.
Her two-year investigation into the cover-up of Fr Niall Molloy’s brutal murder led to a state inquiry. When Denis O’Brien – the Clinton’s biggest Irish donor – became the owner of INM, she was ordered to give up her anti-corruption work or leave her job. She successfully sued INM and went onto become a film producer.
Her documentary ‘Mary Boyle: The Untold Story’ has been viewed more than 1 million times and won several international awards. The film about Ireland’s longest and youngest missing person revealed how a politician had ordered the police to shield the political suspect whom they believed had raped and murdered the child.
Her work led to a new ‘inquiry’ and marches around the country demanding justice for the six-year-old child whose killer is protected to this day by Irish Gardai.
Gemma’s investigation into the disappearance of toddler Madeleine McCann exposed grave lies in the BBC’s reporting of the case which were designed to mislead the public and protect a potential suspect.
She also exposed the decades-long scandal of paedophilia at one of Dublin’s top private boys’ schools Terenure College. Her research has revealed shocking Garda corruption in the murder investigations of Sophie Du Plantier, Raonaid Murray, Shane O’Farrell and Shane Tuohey and how the Irish police have framed citizens like Brian Mahon, Ian Bailey and Aaron Brady.
Gemma’s work on health and environment earned her the title of Campaigning Journalist of the Year for her investigation on water fluoridation and its dangers to public health. For decades, through her campaigning journalism, she has worked tirelessly to expose the harm done by Big Pharma vaccines, industrial wind turbines, glyphosate, and chemotherapy.
In 2019, in an attempt to end the toxic culture of corruption destroying Ireland, she decided to enter the field of politics and established Anti-Corruption Ireland www.anti-corruptionireland.com, a political movement founded on 20 Core Pillars.
She is passionate about restoring sovereignty in Ireland, protecting Irish culture, heritage and family businesses while ending the globalist policies that have left the country unrecognisable and its citizens burdened with debt and bureaucracy.
With her colleague John Waters, she was one of the first citizens in the world to take a legal case against the unconstitutional Covid19 Lockdown to defend the fundamental freedoms and livelihoods of the Irish people. The action continues today.
Gemma O'Doherty and John Waters Speaking About what they call a "Corrupt Irish Appeal Court" which they have named "The Corrupt Little Appeal Court run by Court President Judge Birmingham" who has his eye on the job as Chief Justice. Gemma O'Doherty and John Waters state that their appeal hearing and judgement was in effect job interview to show Judge Birmingham is more than willing to do the bidding for the Irish Government and make rulings they way the Irish Government want important made
Dublin End LockDown Protests 27-02-2021
Dublin End LockDown Party Protests
Gemma O'Doherty and John Waters Speaking About what they call a Corrupt Irish Appeal Court
Gemma O'Doherty and John Waters Speaking More About
what they call a Corrupt Irish Appeal Court
run by Court President Judge George Birmingham
Irish COP QUIZZED Ove Supply of illegal Drugs
Garda arrested for questioning over suspected involvement in supply of illegal drugs.
It is understood his arrest follows a lengthy investigation which was sparked by the receipt of specific intelligence. Sunday World
Ralph Riegel- February 28 2021
A GARDA has been arrested for questioning about suspected involvement
in the supply of illegal drugs.
The officer - who is based in the south - was arrested on Sunday morning and taken to Mallow Garda Station for questioning. However, the garda is not based in Cork but attached to a station in another Munster county. The garda is being questioned by officers attached to the Garda Síochana Ombudsman Commission (GSOC).
It is understood his arrest follows a lengthy investigation which was sparked by the receipt of specific intelligence.
The officer can be detained for a period of up to 24 hours.
GSOC officers involved in the operation are working under the Garda Síochana Act, 2005.
Officers must make a decision by Monday on whether to release the Garda or level a charge.
A decision must also be taken on whether to suspend the officer from operational duties.
The investigation into the matter has involved detailed operations in two counties.
End The Irish Lock Down Protests Mary and
O'Connell Street, Dublin, Ireland October 2020
"End The Lockdown"
"We Want The Truth"
"RTE is Fake News"
"RTE Is The Virus"
"Take Off The Masks"
Yelled all the Irish Protestors
Dublin EndLockDown Protest On The Luas
The're Coming To Your Door!!!
COVID-19 Vaccines of Death
End The Irish Lockdown Protests 27th Feb, 2021 Video 1
End The Irish Lockdown Protests 27th Feb, 2021 Video 2
Dublin Anti Lockdown Protests 27th February 2021
End The Irish Lockdown Protests 27th Feb, 2021 Video 3
Irish Journalists Gemma O'Doherty and JohnWaters explain how corruption in Irish Courts Operates and the Irish Courts are saying the Irish Government are always right and that the Irish People Have No Right to Question the actions of the Irish Government and Irish Parliament... and how the Irish People are curently in the process of losing their Country .... losing all their sovereigb rights .... losing all their assets and freedom that that have fought hundreds of years for...
Gemma Irish Journaliats Gemma O'Doherty and John Waters explain how the Irish Government Is Stopped by the Irish Constitution created by the Irish Forefathers from ording Lockdowns and Road Blocks and interference of ordinary Irish Citizens going about their normal lawful lives and business
Irish Journalists Gemma O'Doherty and John Waters
explain that the Irish Appeal Court is Wrotten
under the control of President Judge George Birmingham, who is bidding to the appointed the Chief Justice by the Irish Government
Irish Journalists Gemma ODoherty and John Waters explian how
the Irish Appeal Court Snears At People Trying To Save The LIve of the Irish People
APPEAL
Supporters of Anti-Covid restriction campaigners Gemma O’Doherty and John Waters protest outside Four Courts
A number of supporters of anti-Covid restriction campaigners Gemma O’Doherty and John Waters protested outside the Four Courts today over not being permitted to attend an appeal hearing.
Their supporters gathered outside as numbers attending the proceedings has been limited due to the Covid-19 restrictions.
Ms O'Doherty and Mr Waters have begun their appeal against the High Court's dismissal of their legal challenge against laws introduced by the State due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
Ms O’Doherty said she hoped the Court of Appeal would respect the science in relation to an "alleged pandemic" and an "alleged virus".
Measures taken by the State to deal with it were not based on science but on conjecture they claim, adding that public health laws brought in by the State were unconstitutional and flawed.
The High Court dismissed their case earlier this year, as it found they had not put forward facts or expert opinion to support their case.
In his judgment last May refusing leave for judicial review, Mr Justice Charles Meenan said their claims were not arguable and they had not provided any expert evidence or facts to support their view the laws were disproportionate or unconstitutional.
The appeal, which is opposed by the State, is also against the awarding of costs of the hearing against them. It is being heard by the President of the Court of Appeal Mr Justice George Birmingham, Ms Justice John Edwards and Ms Justice Caroline Costello.
Ms O'Doherty claimed State parties had embarked on a completely new path never tested before in medical and scientific history by locking down the 99% of the population who are healthy.
This was to deal with the "common cold" which, she claimed, is what Covid-19 is.
Ms O'Doherty also claimed that lockdowns, masks, social distancing, contact tracing or PCR testing were measures that were based on nothing more than conjecture.
Accusing the Government of "making up law on the hoof", John Waters compared Ireland's response to the World War II emergency to the current situation.
Court of Appeal President, Mr Justice George Birmingham, suggested he might be better advised to concentrate on the current situation and "leave the past to the past".
In his findings last May Mr Justice Meenan said the manner in which the Houses of the Oireachtas dealt with the laws, introduced by a caretaker government and voted on by an incoming Dáil and outgoing Seanad, was not something a court could interfere with.
The hearing of the appeal continues.
LOCKDOWN CHALLENGE
Judge says John Waters and Gemma O'Doherty chose 'distortion over fact' as appeal is dismissed
Mr Justice Birmingham said that the approach taken by the High Court "was the correct one".
John Waters and Gemma O'Doherty's appeal against a refusal to permit them to challenge the constitutionality of laws introduced in response to the Covid-19 pandemic has been dismissed.
They had appealed the High Court’s refusal to permit the two to bring their challenge and its award of costs of that hearing against them.
In their judicial review proceedings against the State and the Minister for Health, with the Dail. Seanad and Ceann Comhairle as notice parties, the appellants had sought to have various legislative measures declared unconstitutional and flawed.
In its decision on today the three-judge Court of Appeal, comprised of the President of the Court of Appeal Mr Justice George Birmingham, Ms Justice John Edwards and Ms Justice Caroline Costello dismissed all grounds of their appeal.
Mr Justice Birmingham said that the approach taken by the High Court "was the correct one".
READ MORE
He added that while the case was "controversial and tendentious" no serious legal issue that would justify the granting of permission had been raise.
The applicants he said claimed "to know better than the government and the Oireachtas" and they dismissed internal and international advice concerning the pandemic available to the government.
Their proceedings the judge said failed to raise issues of substance.
They had "chosen rhetoric over substance and fiction and distortion over fact" and failed to meet the threshold of establishing an arguable case, the judge concluded.
The decision was delivered electronically and none of the partiers were present in the Four Courts complex when the judgement was handed down.
The appeal was opposed by the respondents and the notice parties.
Last year Ms O'Doherty and Mr Waters sought to challenge legislation including the 2020 Health Preservation and Protection and Other Emergency Measures in the Public Interest Act; the 2020 Emergency Measures in the Public Interest Act Covid-19 Act and the 1947 Health Act (Affected Areas) Order.
They claimed the laws, and the manner in which they were enacted, are repugnant to several articles of the Constitution including concerning the rights to travel, bodily integrity and the family, and amounted to an “unprecedented suspension” of constitutional rights.
Last May Mr Justice Charles Meenan refused to grant them leave and said their claims were not arguable.
They had not provided any expert evidence or facts to support their view the laws were disproportionate or unconstitutional.
The manner in which the Houses of the Oireachtas dealt with the laws, introduced by a caretaker government and voted on by an incoming Dail and outgoing Seanad, was not something a court could interfere with, he said.
The laws are constitutionally permissible, he held.
The proceedings should have been brought via plenary hearing, involving hearing oral evidence, and not judicial review, he held.
In their submissions to the appeal court Ms O’Doherty, and Mr Waters argued the High Court's decision refusing them permission to bring their challenge against the laws was wrong and that they didn't get a fair hearing before the lower courts.
Mr Waters argued that the CoA should set aside a High Court judgement that was "deeply tainted." He said that the challenge was brought against laws that were "made off the hoof."
Michael Collins SC, with Patrick McCann SC for the Minister and the State said the applicants' appeal should be dismissed.
While this was an appeal against a refusal to grant leave their issue was against decision made by the government, based on medical and scientific advice, against the threat to public health and lives caused by the international pandemic.
Some of their submissions were appalling and offensive, counsel said. Counsel said they have made many wild and general assertions, which he said were not supported by any reports or evidence.
Francis Kieran Bl for the notice parties said the appeal should be dismissed as their claim was non judiciable, and nothing had been put before the court that would allow them "climb the high legal walls" required for their arguments to succeed.
Counsel added that some of the applicant's submissions was "Bermuda Triangle stuff."
READ MORE
Most Important Historical Court Case in Ireland
Irish Journalists Gemma O'Doherty and John Waters state that no other Court Case Has Effected Every Irish Person in Ireland, than their Court Case they have taken out against the Irish Government asking the Irish High Court to reviww the new emergency Lockdown Rules on Irish Business, Irish people and Irish Society which is taking away all of the normal rights and assest Irish People have for hundreds of years to obtain
Irish GemmaOdoherty_JohnWaters_MostImportantCourtCase-In-IrelandV10.mp4
GARDA ABUSE
‘Gemma O’Doherty supporter’ abused and insulted gardaí and refused to give his name
A CAR passenger who was asked for his name after a garda traffic stop roared obscenities and told them: “I’m a Gemma O’Doherty supporter, I don’t need to tell you nothing,” a court heard.
Father-of-one Philip Daly (33) hurled abuse at the officer in a public park and asked passers-by to “record the wrongdoing of the guards” on their phones.
Daly was found guilty of using threatening, abusive and insulting behaviour but a charge of refusing to give gardaí his name and address was dismissed.
The accused, of Poplar Row, Dublin 3 had pleaded not guilty to both charges.
Judge Bryan Smyth fined him €200.
Garda Rebecca Matthews told Dublin District Court she signalled a woman driving a car at Fairview Park to stop on the evening of May 7 and noticed there was a small child in the back of the car.
As she spoke to the driver, Daly, who was a passenger, “kept interrupting from the outset”.
He said “f**k you, I will not stick around for this”, unbuckled the child and got out of the car, Gda Matthews said.
She followed the accused into the park, where she asked his name and address.
He said “f**k off, I don’t have to give you any details,” Gda Matthews told the court.
Daly added: “I’m a Gemma O’Doherty supporter, I don’t need to tell you nothing.”
He started shouting, telling people to “record the wrongdoing of the guards”.
The driver came over and took the child, and Daly continued to shout obscenities “in front of hundreds of people in the park”.
He was arrested and brought to Clontarf garda station, where his identity was ascertained.
Daly would say the garda only asked for his details in the garda car, his solicitor Yvonne Bambury said.
He had not been arrested when the garda followed him and he was within his rights to keep going, Ms Bambury said.
https://www.sundayworld.com/news/irish-news/gemma-odoherty-supporter-abused-and-insulted-gardai-and-refused-to-give-his-name-39877277.html
Online Editors
‘End the Lockdown’ protesters arrested outside Four Courts as Gemma O'Doherty and John Waters make appeal
During the incident, six men and five women were arrested at various locations along the quays for allegedly failing or refusing to provide their names and addresses in accordance with The Health Act 1947.
Eleven ‘End the Lockdown’ protesters were arrested outside the Four Courts in Dublin yesterday for alleged breaches of Covid restrictions and public order offences.
The protest coincided with the appearance at the Court of Appeal of Gemma O’Doherty and John Waters who were seeking to overturn a High Court refusal to permit them to challenge the constitutionality of laws introduced in response to the Covid-19 pandemic.
A decision on the appeal was reserved.
But while the matter was being heard in court, gardai allege that a number of people gathered on Inns Quay in the vicinity of the Four Courts at around 9:45am.
"Garda members engaged with the gathered protesters over a period of time,” the Garda Press Office said in a statement this evening.
“Following persistent lack of compliance with public health regulations and directions from An Garda Síochána, gardaí deployed public order personnel to support uniform gardaí who proceeded to make lawful demands for names and addresses from a number of protestors.”
During the incident, six men and five women were arrested at various locations along the quays for allegedly failing or refusing to provide their names and addresses in accordance with The Health Act 1947.
They were taken to the Bridewell, Pearse Street, Kevin Street and Store Street garda stations.
One man was subsequently charged with failing to provide a name and address and appeared before the District Court at the Criminal Courts of Justice and has been remanded in custody to appear before Cloverhill District Court this morning.
Three other men and one woman were charged with various offences and released on station bail while four women were issued with Fixed Payment Notices.
Another man was released and a file is to be prepared for the DPP.
Meanwhile, the President of the Court of Appeal (CoA) Mr Justice George Birmingham said the three-judge court hoped to give its decision as soon as they can in what was a complex matter.
In judicial review proceedings against the State and the Minister for Health, with the Dáil, Seanad and Ceann Comhairle as notice parties, the appellants had sought to have various legislative measures declared unconstitutional and flawed.
Ms O’Doherty, and Mr Waters claimed the High Court's decision refusing them permission to bring their challenge against the laws was wrong and that they didn't get a fair hearing before the lower courts.
They also expressed their unhappiness that "concerned members of the public" were not allowed to attend the hearings.
It meant the hearing was "in camera" and not in public, said Ms O’Doherty.
Earlier, Ms O'Doherty said the restrictions introduced to counter a virus she described as the "common cold" were "barbaric".
She said the Irish people and the economy were suffering as a result of draconian and unconstitutional measures brought in over an "alleged pandemic".
She added that she was not happy to be asked, by Mr Justice Birmingham at outset of the hearing, to wear a mask in the courtroom.
Ms O'Doherty said masks did more harm than good, adding they were a health risk .
She also questioned the use of methods such as social distancing, the accuracy of Covid-19 testing and the safety of Covid-19 vaccines, and if asymptomatic people with Covid-19 present a risk to others.
Ms O'Doherty also questioned the accuracy of the official number of deaths attributed to Covid-19 claiming that a person who died after "falling off a roof" was classified as a death from the virus.
Mr Waters said the CoA should set aside a High Court judgment that was "deeply tainted".
He compared the restrictions imposed over the last nine months to those introduced after a national emergency was declared by the Irish Government in 1939 after WW2 broke out.
Michael Collins SC, with Patrick McCann SC, for the Minister and the State, said the applicants' appeal should be dismissed.
Counsel added that the applicants believe the pandemic was "a conspiracy" involving the state, the HSE and the HSE-funded media for monetary purposes, and that the state was controlled by the Chinese Communist Party.
There was no evidence to support those assertions either, counsel.
Francis Kieran Bl for the notice parties said the appeal should be dismissed. Some of their submissions were "Bermuda Triangle stuff".
Last May, the High Court’s Mr Justice Charles Meenan refused to grant them leave and said their claims were not arguable.
While the applicants are physically in the courtroom the three judges and lawyers for the State respondents attended via video link.
‘Public confidence is gone’ –
Labour leader reacts to Health Minister’s appearance on Claire Byrne Live
Minister for Health Stephen Donnelly fuels confusion over return to schools
There is a “serious issue” of a lack of confidence in the Minister for Health, according to Labour leader Alan Kelly.
Mr Kelly described Minister Donnelly’s appearance on the Claire Byrne Live show last night was “scary”.
However, he declined that Labour would table a motion of no confidence in the Minister.
“It’s really an issue for the Taoiseach, the Tánaiste and Eamon Ryan. If they can’t see what I’m seeing and everybody in front of me and everybody at home last night, it’s not a very good state for the Government," he said.
His comments came after Minister for Health Stephen Donnelly fuelled confusion over which classes will return to school from Monday.
He was forced to issue a clarification last night after appearing on RTÉ’s Claire Byrne Live and saying that talks between Education Minister Norma Foley and teaching unions had not reached a “done deal”. Minister Donnelly added that negotiations are still ongoing.
“Minister Foley is still in negotiations with the unions on this and Cabinet hopes to be in a position to announce something on this tomorrow,” he said on air.
He then added that this happened “very, very recently, potentially after Josepha Madigan was talking.”
This comment came after Minister of State for Special Education Josepha Madigan had indicated on yesterday’s RTÉ Drivetime radio programme that junior and senior infants, as well as first and second class and Leaving Cert students, would return to school from Monday.
He said that Minister Madigan made those comments on the radio in “good faith” and acknowledged that the lack of clarity is “frustrating” for parents.
However, in a tweet last night, less than two hours after appearing on the programme, Minister Donnelly said that talks with teaching unions actually finished early on Monday afternoon
“Clarification re return of schools - meetings with the teaching unions concluded early this afternoon. Government intends making an announcement after Cabinet[meeting] in line with plans as already outlined,” he wrote.
Following the conclusion of last night’s Cabinet meeting, it is expected that Leaving Cert students, as well as pupils in first and second classes and junior and senior infants will return to school on Monday.
Today, Mr Kelly called on the Government to “alleviate” the Minister’s workload, which now includes mandatory quarantine.
He said that the Government "effectively dumped" the complex piece of legislation surrounding mandatory quarantine on the Health Minister.
“Have we got a Minister who can communicate and show confidence in relation to the large volume of workload that he has?
"What is this government going to do to change that to alleviate his workload or in some way help him?"
"He's under serious pressure, he's not dealing with it well."
He said that this is "not a question of politics".
“Last night was scary. It wasn’t just embarrassing for him, it was scary for all of us.”
“Public confidence is gone in the Government,” Mr Kelly added.
Sinn Féin spokesperson David Cullinane said that Minister's performance did not "inspire confidence" last night, but also said that a motion of no confidence would not be helpful at this stage of the pandemic.
FUNDING DROP
Dental treatment for medical card holders ‘in complete chaos’
Between 2017 and 2020, State spending on dental care for medical card patients nationwide decreased by 30pc, from 5.5 million euros to 3.8 million euro
Dental treatment for medical card holders is in complete chaos in Ireland, the profession’s industry body said.
Between 2017 and 2020, state spending on dental care for medical card patients nationwide decreased by 30pc, from 5.5 million euro to 3.8 million euro.
Funding drops of up to 48pc in certain areas have been recorded, while areas of Dublin account for six of the top 10 biggest drops in funding over three years.
The Irish Dental Association said an unprecedented number of dentists was withdrawing from the official treatment scheme.
Chief executive Fintan Hourihan said: “In 2020, almost one quarter of participating dentists nationwide left this scheme which is utterly unfit for purpose.
“Dentists simply cannot afford to participate, leading to complete chaos.”
He said dentists had sought to engage with the Department of Health to modify the Dental Treatment Services Scheme over many years to no avail.
“Increasingly, our members believe that the refusal to acknowledge this reality and the general approach of the Department of Health suggests a level of disrespect, if not contempt, for medical card patients and the dentists contracted to care for them.
“It also shows scant regard or understanding of the impact of this crisis on vulnerable patients who are unable to afford access to vital dental care.”
In 2019, then minister for health Simon Harris launched a new plan, “Smile agus Slainte”, aiming to transform the dental service from a “diagnose and treat” to one centred on prevention and available locally.
Under the Government policy, all children up to 16 years would receive oral healthcare packages.
They would also be provided for medical card holders over 16 years.
The packages of care would be provided in a primary care setting by oral healthcare practitioners contracted by the HSE.
The Department of Health said the DTSS medical card scheme claims submitted by dentists had already returned to 90% of their pre-Covid level.
The numbers of dentists applying for new DTSS contracts is substantial and not reflected in IDA estimates, it said, adding that “they will contribute significantly to further services”.
A statement said it was supporting additional access to care for medical card holders under the DTSS scheme.
“The aim will be to improve access, reduce inequalities with other groups of patients and support preventive care.
“A fundamental and full DTSS review will take place in line with policy implementation but the department is cognisant of the need for interim measures before this full review to support practices and patients to help overcome Covid-19 impacts.
“The department appreciates the difficulties for the profession and medical card holders to provide and access care respectively throughout the Covid-19 pandemic.
“The department at all times is conscious of the impact of Covid-19 for vulnerable patients.
“The dedication of the profession is appreciated throughout this difficult time.”
The DTSS budget is annually determined by the take up of patients and this varies according to the numbers eligible for medical cards, as well as other factors such as the Covid-19 pandemic.
The statement said: “Throughout the Covid-19 pandemic the main group of medical card patients that have reduced their attendance and take up of all dental care including DTSS care have been older patients.
“This trend is similar across all non-Covid primary care services where older people have reduced take up of health care and are reluctant to access any but the most essential of care throughout the pandemic; the dental medical card figures reflect this phenomenon across the population and this is reflected in an overall reduction in take up of care.
“However, dental provision of care has been less affected than other health areas.”
Level Five restrictions to continue until April 5, Cabinet agrees
A phased reopening of schools and childcare will be a feature of the Taoiseach’s revised Living With Covid plan.
Level Five restrictions are set to continue in Ireland until April 5 at least, the Cabinet has agreed.
A Cabinet meeting on Tuesday to sign off on the country’s path forward through the pandemic has now finished.
The Taoiseach is to make a live address to the country to unveil details the Government’s revised Living With Covid plan.
Sources have confirmed to the PA news agency that Level Five measures will remain in place until after Easter.
However, there is cautious optimism that a wider reopening will be possible at that point.
“It will be a different story.
“The vaccine rollout will be ramped up significantly, we’ll have better weather then.
“There will be better options,” a Cabinet source said.
As expected, the plan will include the phased reopening of schools and childcare, with some school pupils set to return to the classroom on March 1.
Junior and senior infants as well as first and second class in primary schools will be among the first back to school.
Leaving Certificate students are also expected to return to the classroom next week.
In a live address at 6pm, Micheal Martin will also give an update on the vaccination priority list, with a few changes expected to be made.
However, opposition parties criticised the Government’s messaging to the public about the plans to ease out of lockdown.
Sinn Fein’s David Cullinane said there was a lot of “anger and frustration” among the public.
“We’re picking that up from people who are very upset and angry over the Government’s handling of this over the last number of weeks,” Mr Cullinane added.
“The mixed messages, the contradictions from Government ministers, the leaks and all of these issues.
“There’s no sense of any real leadership, no sense of a cohesive plan.
“All of this is in the context of people who are making very big sacrifices, people who are abiding by the public health guidelines.
“They’re obviously very tough on individuals, on families and on businesses.
“People want to play their part to bring the numbers down and they turn to Government then, to ensure that the Government’s responses are appropriate.”
People Before Profit TD Richard Boyd Barrett said there had been a “shambolic handling” of proposals to reopen schools, describing them as “dangerously defective”.
He said the plans threatened to undermine the effort made during lockdown.
Meanwhile, official disease modeller Professor Philip Nolan said that, while progress in reducing Covid-19 cases had slowed, the country was still making progress.
“Cases last week down 8% on the week before, under 700 in hospital this morning,” he tweeted.
“Importantly the number of symptomatic cases is falling, while we see more asymptomatic and contacts.
“It’s really hard, but we have to keep going.”
PA Media
Israel is roaring back to life after world-beating jab drive - so why isn't everyone celebrating?
- Israel has vaccinated half of its population of nine million people against Covid
- People who have received two Covid-19 vaccinations are entitled to a passport
- The Green Passport entitles them to go to bars, restaurants and theatres
There is a new rule at Meir Elbaz's synagogue near Tel Aviv. Only people who can produce a green pass, Israel's new Covid passport, may cross the threshold. If you don't have one of the highly-prized passes, you are relegated to the courtyard and forced to listen to prayers through the open windows.
'It's a harsh rule to impose but it's for a really good reason, and ultimately it's the kind of approach that will allow Israel to quickly return to normality,' said Elbaz, a 29-year-old logistics manager.
Last week was the carnival-themed Jewish holiday of Purim, when the whole congregation traditionally attends prayers in fancy dress. It's the highlight of the calendar for children and the place is normally filled with youngsters dressed as princes, princesses, superheroes and animals, given a once-a-year right to make as much noise as they like.
But only adults can get green passes and it's hard to hear prayers from the courtyard, so Elbaz's 18-month-old daughter – like all the other children – stayed home, with only her mother to admire her ladybird outfit.
A holder of the 'green pass' (proof of being fully vaccinated against the coronavirus), trains at a gym in the Israeli coastal city of Tel Aviv, on February 21
It's a stark example of how the new virus certificate, introduced on February 21, is changing Israel. Anyone above the age of 16, the minimum age at which you can be given the vaccine, can download the government-issued certificate to their phone if they have been inoculated against Covid or have recovered from the virus.
The certificate features a QR code that, once scanned, checks Israeli health records to confirm that the holder has received both doses of the Covid vaccine.
It can also be printed out on paper, allowing the smartphone-averse ultra-Orthodox community to also benefit from the scheme.
The government sees the system as having a key role to play in opening up society following the success of its world-beating vaccination programme which has seen public clinics give at least one dose to half the population.
Latest data indicates that the vaccine is proving to be 94 per cent effective. And for the first time in months, Israelis have flocked to gyms and swimming pools last week, with access legally restricted to those who could present a green pass at the door.
A man gets ready to swim in a pool, after entering the facility with his required 'green pass', in the Israeli coastal city of Tel Aviv, on February 21
The system will also be introduced at cafes, bars and restaurants as they are allowed to open over the coming weeks.
'Opening these places is a big deal as recreational activities like eating out are a huge part of our culture and we're all excited,' said Joseph Gitler, chairman of Leket Israel, the national food bank. He added: 'We've been seeing chefs and other furloughed restaurant staff turning up at our soup kitchens for meals, and the chance to kickstart our huge hospitality sector will do wonders in reducing poverty.'
The launch of the passport is also welcome news for concert promoter Ronit Arbel.
She is used to laying on gigs for the likes of Sir Paul McCartney, Lady Gaga and Eric Clapton but, thanks to the pandemic, it will be some time before she hosts any more global icons.
Instead she will be organising concerts for local acts and, in another twist, she will be concentrating on those that appeal to an older demographic.
As most people who have been vaccinated so far – and are thus eligible for a green pass – are in the 60-plus age group, Arbel's target market is now the elderly rather than the young.
She has predicted that artists who play music from the 1950s and 60s could be about to find themselves inundated with bookings.
She added: 'All over the world, people are struggling with the loss of cultural events but I'm now starting to be optimistic, and think that the green pass will make Israel the first to revive.
Ticket to ride: Excited green pass holders show their proof of vaccination before entering a concert for vaccinated seniors, organised by the municipality of Tel Aviv, February 24
Indeed, Tel Aviv held its first live cultural event for 11 months last Wednesday with a 'green pass only' concert by singer Nurit Galron for the city's senior citizens.
However, there is little sign of this revival at the empty student union of Bar-Ilan University. But Rifat Sweidan, the man responsible for extra-curricular programming for students, is confident that the green passes will bring the place back to life within weeks.
'For a year, students have been mostly only seeing each other remotely but this will get them studying and socialising together again,' he predicted.
The problem is that the student demographic – those in their late teens and early 20s – has been the least worried by Covid and thus the slowest to get vaccinated since the offer of the jab was extended from the over-60s to everyone over 16.
However, Sweidan is convinced that the lure of a return to the pleasures of normal life will soon have young Israelis lining up to receive their jabs.
'We set up a vaccination station on campus last week and there was very little demand – but now people see the value of a green pass, it'll cause many more to take shots,' he said.
'After all, students are really keen to get back to restaurants, cafes, concerts and events, and are realising the green pass is the way.' Sweidan, an Israeli-Arab, also reports a sense of excitement among Muslim families as it dawns on them that, unlike last year, they will be able to host guests during Ramadan.
And some are already considering hinging invitations on green passes. 'Ramadan starts in the middle of April and I expect many will only be prepared to host those who have the pass, which I think will lead to a further rise in vaccination rates over the coming weeks,' he said.
The release of the green pass is already creating signs of life in Israel's decimated tourist industry. Tour operator Geoff Winston said that his phone has suddenly started ringing this week, with people from overseas wanting to book trips to Israel.
'After months of quiet, I've had a couple of dozen groups wanting to plan trips, some as soon as the summer,' he said.
'They think the fact that such a high percentage of Israelis have taken shots and we have the green pass means they can visit and more or less only encounter vaccinated people.'
But not everyone is happy. Some critics have argued that Israel is rushing to institute a system that infringes civil rights.
'In principle it's a good idea and I support vaccination – but the green pass discriminates against those who don't vaccinate for ideological or health reasons,' said Jonathan Klinger, legal counsel for the Israeli Digital Rights Movement.
He also has data-protection concerns. While the government insists it isn't collecting data on where people use their green passes, he wonders whether they can be trusted to resist the temptation.
But his objections have little traction in a country that is itching to take steps along the road back to normality.
Business leaders such as Paul Israel, executive director of the Israel-Australia Chamber of Commerce, are especially keen on the green pass. 'The economy has taken a big hit and we can't afford to wait,' he said.
He hosts dozens of high-level delegations in a normal year as they are drawn to Israel by its cutting-edge tech scene. He is confident that the early adoption of green passes will see them return, and put the economy in a good position to bounce back.
'As we will be one of the first countries to open up to international travel, this will provide an immediate boost to the economy,' he said.
Not surprisingly, Israel's introduction of the world's first Covid passport is being followed keenly internationally.
Observers will note the concerns over civil liberties and the problems associated with unvaccinated children – but perhaps the surest indicator of the success of the green pass is that it has already been targeted by criminals.
Less than a week after the green pass was introduced, the authorities became aware of the first attempts to create forgeries.
MANHUNT Homes raided in hunt for south Dublin man who launched firework at gardaí during anti-lockdown riot
Two properties were raided in the Dun Laoghaire area this morning when members of the Armed Support Unit backed up investigating gardaí to carry out early morning searches of the homes.
Ken Foy - March 01 2021 07:36 PM
A manhunt is ongoing for the 30-year-old south Dublin man who threw a firework at gardaí during Saturday’s violent demonstrations in the capital.
Two properties were raided in the Dun Laoghaire area this morning when members of the Armed Support Unit backed up investigating gardaí to carry out early morning searches of the homes.
However the suspect, who is previously known to gardaí, was not present.
The development comes as specialist gardaí are investigating whether leaders of far-right groups in Ireland are being “actively encouraged” by foreign extremist agitators, senior sources have revealed.
A massive investigation is ongoing into the riot at an anti-lockdown protest in Dublin city centre on Saturday which led to three officers being injured, 23 people being arrested and 13 people being charged with public order offences, including a 68-year-old Shankill-based dentist.
“These individuals have been monitored for many months now by the Special Detective Unit and the National Cybercrime Bureau – there is a strong suggestion that activities here are being stoked by groups outside this country,” a senior source explained.
“While they have an overt presence on a number of social media platforms, they also use encrypted messaging services and it is suspected in some cases even use encrypted phones to communicate with each other.”
The messaging services include mobile apps such as Signal, Telegram and Threema.
“This makes it difficult for gardaí to infiltrate these far-right groups but it also shows how organised they are.
“Despite this, gardaí have had good success in dealing with this growing threat and evidence of this is the fact that a special policing operation was put in place on Saturday as gardaí had prior knowledge that protests were going to happen and there was a real expectation of violence considering what had happened at previous protests,” the source added.
A total of 125 gardaí, including multiple public order units from across the city, were present in the city centre to police the protest.
Saturday’s protest was organised online by a group called RiseUp Éireann who called it a "Unite the Tribes" event and in the aftermath of the shocking violence, the group took to social media to announce that the demonstration was a success.
Extremists, including former members of Generation Identity, are suspected of instigating the violence and gardaí observed members of the National Party who vehemently oppose lockdowns at the event.
Yellow Vests Ireland, Síol na hÉireann, Irish Freedom Party and the National Party have been the predominant organisers of rallies in Dublin since the pandemic began but these have often been hijacked by violent far-right extremists, including those formally linked to disbanded Generation Identity.
Around half a dozen officers in the Special Detective Unit are tasked with monitoring the online activities of both extreme right-wing and left-wing groups in Ireland.
“On their own these groups have very small numbers but when the different groups get together to carry out acts of public disobedience in which they do not comply with the Covid regulations, it ends up being a fairly sizeable amount of people,” a senior source said.
Speaking after the violent demonstration, Garda Commissioner Drew Harris said: "The vast majority of those who took part belong to a number of factions including anti-vaccine, anti-mask and anti-lockdown far-right groups, and those intent on trouble and disorder."
The source said: “There is monitoring going on right now, in light of last Saturday, of violence at other protests and some online activity. Gardaí are well aware of the growth in popularity of some ideas, particularly online. The gardaí have lots of ways of watching those who need to be watched.”
Officers have been observing a growth in the activities of far-right groups since the coronavirus health crisis began a year ago which has proved to be a fruitful breeding ground for the extremist groups. Officers have investigated incidents, many including the spreading of fake news in the aftermath of the shooting of George Nkencho in December and the racist harassment of Dublin Lord Mayor Hazel Chu in January.
“These groups are an increasing problem and as the events of last weekend show, they have the capability to cause very serious disorder.
“It is not an exaggeration to say that they are a threat to the stability of the State, especially as it tries to deal with the huge challenges of the public health situation,” the source said.
As far back as November 2019, Mr Harris said he was concerned about the increase in right-wing extremism in Ireland.
“I am concerned about right-wing extremism. We can see evidence of it on our shores as we have seen it spread across Europe,'' he told a meeting of the Policing Authority.
“The difficulty with it is that it's spread through the web and spread through social media. And we just need to be very careful, in terms of some of the things that have happened to date here in Ireland. We now see it starting to arrive on our shores," he said.
"We're very acutely aware of it and we're very acutely aware there's a policing response, and indeed an intelligence response, that we need to have to thwart that particular threat,” he told the meeting over 15 months ago.
Last October, Mr Harris warned far-right extremist groups have a “propensity for violence” after 11 people were arrested for public order offences at an anti-lockdown protest on Grafton Street.
Mr Harris said at the time: “What we found concerning about these groups is you can see an initial call on open source media, then quickly they go to covert means of communicating with each other.
“That tells us right from the start there's a problem here and we should be concerned about the protest activity that's going to follow.''
He added: “Once we become aware of protests being organised, we do try to find out intelligence about it, because we have a concern about the risk of violence.”
PUBLIC ORDER
Dentist and plumber among Dublin anti-lockdown protesters charged
Twelve men and one woman appeared in court facing charges of breaching sections of the Criminal Justice Public Order Act 1994.
Alan O’Keeffe, Luke Byrne and Ken Foy - March 01 2021
A dentist, a peanut factory worker, a plumber and a wheel technician are among 13 people charged following the anti-lockdown protest in Dublin on Saturday.
Seven people were charged with offences and released on station bail and three juveniles were released for consideration of inclusion in the Juvenile Diversion Programme.
Twelve men and one woman appeared in court facing charges of breaching sections of the Criminal Justice Public Order Act 1994.
Some of the sections of the Act included Section 6 – a breach of the peace; Section 8 – failure to comply with an order of a garda to leave an area; and Section 19 – obstruction or assault of a garda.
All were remanded in custody with consent to bail, with bail set at €200, to appear before Cloverhill District Court on March 5.
The conditions of the bail were that they abide by all aspects of the Health Act in relation to Covid-19 restrictions, they do not take part in unlawful assemblies, and they be of good behaviour.
Those who were charged with offences under the Act included:
Craig Byrne (23), an apprentice, from Crumlin Road, Dublin 12, relating to Sections 6, 8, and 19 at O’Connell Street Lower; James Moore (19), Fairways Park, Finglas, Dublin, relating to Sections 6 and 8; plumber Jason Sheridan (27), who is out of work due to Covid, of Pearse House, Pearse Street, Dublin 2, relating to Section 6 at Grafton Street; Kevin and Stephen Fitzgerald, twin brothers aged 26 of Newbury Grove, Clonshaugh, County Dublin, relating to Section 6.
Joseph Reynolds, Lower Fitzwilliam Street, Dublin 2; relating to incident in Dawson Street; dentist Fergus Cahill (68) of Aubury Park, Shankill, Co Dublin, in relation to Sections 6, 8 and 19, and his son Coillte Cahill (25) of North Circular Road, Dublin 7; Darragh Tril, Mellows Park, Finglas, Dublin; John Darby (29) of Deerpark Lodge, Tallaght, in relation to incident at Aston Quay; peanut factory worker Sean Brown (21) of Mellows Park, Finglas, Dublin, in relation to Section 6; wheel technician John Lloyd (19) of Farnham Drive, Finglas, Dublin 9; Section 6 incident at Westmoreland Street; and Joanne Kavanagh (24) of Dolphin Road, Drimnagh, Dublin, Sections 6 and 9.
NEW SYSTEM
Government considering introducing ‘green cards’ to access gyms, restaurants, hotels and concerts post-vaccine
Tanaiste Leo Varadkar said the Government will examine the system and whether it has been successfully implemented in other countries.
The Government could introduce so-called “green cards” that allow people who have been vaccinated to access services including gyms and cinemas.
The system is currently being used in Israel, where citizens who are inoculated against Covid-19 have been provided with a green pass.
The pass allows people to access gyms, restaurants, hotels and concerts.
Tanaiste Leo Varadkar said the Government will examine the system and whether it has been successfully implemented in other countries.
“It’s something that we could consider, but I think we can only consider it when we’re confident that it’s worked in Israel,” Mr Varadkar told Newstalk FM.
“It’s too soon for that in Ireland – we still only have a relatively small proportion of the population vaccinated and, bear in mind, even though you’re vaccinated you can still carry the virus in your nose and can still pass it on to other people.
“You’d want to have a critical mass of the population vaccinated before we even considered those kind of measures.
“By the time we get to that point, which would be some time in June when about half the population will have at least one dose at that stage, we will know whether the experience in Israel has worked out or not.
“The IT system that we have does allow us to produce a vaccine certificate, both in hard copy and digital.”
Mr Varadkar also defended the Government’s slow approach to the easing of restrictions.
The IT system that we have does allow us to produce a vaccine certificate, both in hard copy and digital Tanaiste Leo Varadkar
The phased reopening of schools and childcare will see some pupils return to the classroom on Monday.
Junior and senior infants, as well as first and second class in primary schools, will be among the first back.
Leaving Certificate students will also return to the classroom on Monday.
The Government has yet to set a date for the reopening of the economy and society.
Mr Varadkar said: “We know from the experience after Christmas how quickly this virus can make a comeback if we lower our guard, and we can’t afford to do that.
“March has to be all about getting the schools open, it’s so important that we achieve that.
“Kids need their education, they need to see their friends and they need to be able to develop.
“That’s why schools and childcare going back in March is the only thing that we’re allowing to happen that is any way different to the past couple of weeks.
“But for that to happen successfully, for us to avoid a significant spike in cases, we need to double down on restrictions.”
Mr Varadkar said the coronavirus case numbers are dropping.
On Saturday, Ireland’s positivity rate was below 4% for the first time since the middle of December.
The Government’s mandatory quarantine hotel legislation is going to the Seanad this week before it is approved by President Michael D Higgins.
The Health Bill will introduce mandatory quarantine at a Government-designated facility for people arriving from countries where Covid-19 has been flagged as high risk.
Mandatory quarantine will also apply to people arriving into Ireland without a negative PCR test.
The Bill has been criticised by opposition parties who say it does not go far enough.
Sinn Fein’s Louise O’Reilly said that all arrivals into Ireland should face mandatory quarantine.
“People feel let down by the Government, who is not enforcing mandatory quarantine of all arrivals into the State,” she told RTE’s The Week In Politics.
“The Government needs to meet the people half way. People are doing their best and are exhausted from this lockdown.
“What we saw last week from the Government was confusion, mixed messaging and that does not help.”
We have to treat every person coming into this country as posing a risk in terms of bringing a new mutation into the countryIndependent TD Denis Naughten
Independent TD for Roscommon-Galway Denis Naughten said: “No-one knows where the new mutation is going to come from, it could come from Northern Ireland or France.
“We have to treat every person coming into this country as posing a risk in terms of bringing a new mutation into the country.
“We have to take the exact same approach in terms of people that test positive here in Ireland.
“We have the capability to have a far more aggressive approach in managing Covid outbreaks and we really need to restructure and reformulate our test-and-trace system.”
HOUSE CALL
Gardaí to perform house checks on people who are ‘not engaging’ with mandatory self-quarantine
Detectives in the Garda National Immigration Bureau have already conducted house calls in relation to people who entered the State without the required Covid-19 PCR tests.
Gardaí will be undertaking a series of house checks on people entering Ireland who are supposed to be under a mandatory self-quarantine.
Officers will be checking on people this weekend who have been reported to them as “not engaging” with the Department of Health monitoring process.
To date, detectives in the Garda National Immigration Bureau have already conducted house calls in relation to people who entered the State without the required Covid-19 PCR tests.
“The health and safety of Garda personnel is a key priority for the organisation and has been throughout the pandemic,” An Garda Síochána said in a statement today.
It is an offence to fail to comply with the relevant public health regulation and the offender may be subject to prosecution, punishable by a fine not exceeding €2,500, a maximum of six months imprisonment, or both.
Where gardaí determine there has been a breach a file will be submitted to the DPP for directions in each case.
“To ensure the accuracy of data provided on this matter, An Garda Síochána will progressively provide data relating to the progress of these checks from the middle of next week,” the statement added.
The Minister for Justice said in January that gardaí would not be “going into people’s homes”.
“Obviously if they’re not going to a new quarantine facility run by the HSE they will be asked to quarantine at home,” Minister Helen McEntee said.
“That detail will be available to An Garda Síochána and there will be a certain amount to people who will receive a follow-up call by An Garda Síochána. I don’t think it’s possible to say every single person will receive a call but there will be a significant number of people.”
Under current regulations, those coming into Ireland from abroad have to quarantine, although they can free themselves after five days with a negative Covid-19 test.
However, travellers from 33 countries have to stay quarantined for two weeks regardless of whether they test negative after five days.
Yesterday, 13 countries were added to that list: Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, French Guiana, Guyana, Paraguay, Panama, Peru, Suriname, Uruguay and Venezuela.
The original 20 countries on that list were Angola, Austria, Botswana, Brazil, Burundi, Cape Verde, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Eswatini, Lesotho, Malawi, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, Republic of South Africa, Rwanda, Seychelles, Tanzania, United Arab Emirates, Zambia and Zimbabwe.
END IN SIGHT
Taoiseach says vaccine is our only hope of return to normality as new plan for 'managing the virus' is published
Micheál Martin said the "end is truly in sight" but he said the vaccine programme had to be accelerated before the country could be reopened.
THE National Vaccination Programme is the only chance the country has of returning to normality a year into the pandemic, the Government has conceded.
Micheál Martin pinned his hope on the vaccine roll-out as he published a new plan for "managing the virus" after ditching his original strategy of living with the virus.
Launching the plan, called 'Covid-19 Resilience and Recovery 2021 - The Path Ahead', the Taoiseach said the "end is truly in sight" but he said the vaccine programme had to be accelerated before the country could be reopened.
"The vaccination programme will completely change the landscape and transform the options available to us as a society for reopening and renewing our country," he said.
At the same event, deputy chief medical officer Ronan Glynn said the vaccine was "our most powerful tool" in battling the virus.
"There are brighter days ahead," he said.
Reports that the EU would receive only half of its intended supply of the AstraZeneca vaccine in the second quarter of the year appeared to overshadow the launch.
However, Health Minister Stephen Donnelly insisted the shortage had been factored into the Government's target of having 60pc of the country's adults fully vaccinated by the end of June.
It is hoped 82pc of all adults will have received their first vaccine at the same date.
The new plan was launched after the Cabinet agreed to extend Level 5 restrictions until April 5, while reopening schools and childcare on a phased basis.
Around 320,000 students will return to school on March 1, including junior and senior infants, first and second class and Leaving Cert students.
This will be reviewed by Nphet in two weeks and may then lead to the rest of primary school classes and fifth-year secondary students returning to school on March 15.
A review of schools will be carried out on April 12 and, if there are no concerns about the spread of the virus, all other classes may then return.
Childcare will return on a phased basis on March 8, with the State's Early Childhood Care and Education preschool scheme resuming first.
By March 29, it is hoped all childcare services will return if transmission of the virus is under control.
Business supports and the Pandemic Unemployment Payment will be extended until the end of June under the new Covid plan.
A review of overall coronavirus restrictions will be carried out next month ahead of plans to ease these on April 5.
However the Government will only consider lifting the 5km travel ban and it will not permit inter-county movement in the next two months.
It may also allow small groups of people meet outdoors, and some sporting activity.
However, the Government did not provide details on what will be permitted.
Another review will then be carried out in April ahead of restrictions possibly being eased further in May.
It is expected construction will return in April, but the ban on building will remain in place next month despite Housing Minister Darragh O'Brien saying he expected to return on March 5.
The plan was described as "damp squib" and "underwhelming" by a number of senior Government sources yesterday.
Tourism Minister Catherine Martin raised concern at Cabinet that the plan did not go far enough for sectors still shut down due to Government restrictions.
Ms Martin told the Cabinet that sectors, especially those under her brief, expected a roadmap for exiting lockdown and may not believe the new plan contained one.
Irish Hotels Federation president Elaina Fitzgerald Kane called for more support for her industry, saying a failure to do so will have "ramifications for the future of Ireland's tourism offering and for the economy that could take decades to remedy".
The Restaurants Association of Ireland criticised the lack of details for when the hospitality industry could reopen.
"If we are all in this together why are we, the public, businesses and employees, not being informed of the plan for reopening sectors?" CEO Adrian Cummins said.
Labour leader Alan Kelly also said the plan lacked "clear metrics and targets" for easing restrictions and "over-relies on vaccination roll-out".
"This is more of the same, with a reliance on continued lockdowns until vaccines reach enough of the population," he said.
Sinn Féin leader Mary Lou McDonald criticised the delay in introducing a mandatory quarantine programme.
"People are told they can't travel 5km from their home and the Government still has a very reckless approach to international travel through our airports and ports," she said.
It came as Health Minister Stephen Donnelly pulled out of an appearance on RTÉ's Prime Time.
He faced criticism over comments he made on Monday night on RTÉ about schools reopening. A spokesperson said he had to focus on the vaccination programme.
BOOKED UP
Gardai arrive at beauty salon in Dublin after owner reopens to customers
Christine McTiernan is arguing she has the constitutional right to earn a living and should be allowed to operate despite businesses being closed under Level 5 restrictions.
A beauty salon in Dublin has opened today as the owner says: "I need to support my family and pay my bills".
Christine McTiernan is arguing she has the constitutional right to earn a living and should be allowed to operate despite businesses being closed under Level 5 restrictions.
C&N Beautyroom in Balbriggan opened to clients today and the phone was engaged for most of the morning.
Gardai are currently at the premises.
Ms McTiernan says she has received calls from people in Galway, Wicklow and "all over".
"The reaction has been phenomenal and the support has been great, people have been telling me fair play," Ms McTiernan said.
"We’ve been booked up”.
The business owner made an announcement outside her salon after opening this morning, saying she will continue to prioritise the health and safety of her staff and customers.
"I need to earn a living and to pay my bills.
"Through my business I have served the community of Balbriggan for six years. I have received a huge amount of positive messages and well wishes.
"I am thankful for their support. I operate my business to the highest health and safety standards and will continue to do everything possible to protect my business and staff.
“Finally my common law rights to provide for my family cannot be overturned. I would like to take the opportunity to thank everybody for their support,” she continued.
"This is to support my family. I need to pay my bills. I'm doing this for survival.
"This is for me. I have to do what I have to do to pay my bills. I have to put food on the table, I have to pay my rent. It is for survival. This is the reason why I'm doing this because I have to survive.
"Nobody else is going to put food on my table."
Under Level 5 restrictions, all non-essential businesses are currently closed.
Beauty salons and hairdressers have been shuttered since December 31.
In a statement posted on Instagram five days ago, Ms McTiernan said: "I never thought I'd be emailing this and going against the guidelines but with no help from the Government, and bills piling sky high the salon will be reopening next week.
"This decides [sic] didn't come lightly as I've tried everything to get help of the Government. Salon has been open 20 days since October 16th and no help since then. The decision isn't about greed or selfishness, it's about survival and keeping the salon a float.
"After six years of hard work keeping the salon going I don't want to see the doors shut for good. Apologies if this offends or upsets anyone with this decision but this is my livelihood.
"They are destroying small businesses but allowing big chains to stay open."
It's understood gardai have been trying to convince Ms Mctiernan to close the salon.
A Garda spokesman said: "Gardaí have attended a retail premises on Dublin Street in Balbriggan and are investigating alleged breaches of public health regulations.
"In respect of regulations, which are declared to be Penal Regulations under the Health Act 1947 as amended, An Garda Síochána continue to adopt the approach of the Four Es which see Gardaí engage, explain, encourage, and as a last resort, enforce.
"Where Gardaí find potential breaches of the public health regulations advices of the DPP will be sought or Fixed Payment Notices will be issued where appropriate."
It is believed officers had not witnessed the business in operation.
END IN SIGHT
Taoiseach says vaccine is our only hope of return to normality as new plan for 'managing the virus' is published
Micheál Martin said the "end is truly in sight" but he said the vaccine programme had to be accelerated before the country could be reopened.
THE National Vaccination Programme is the only chance the country has of returning to normality a year into the pandemic, the Government has conceded.
Micheál Martin pinned his hope on the vaccine roll-out as he published a new plan for "managing the virus" after ditching his original strategy of living with the virus.
Launching the plan, called 'Covid-19 Resilience and Recovery 2021 - The Path Ahead', the Taoiseach said the "end is truly in sight" but he said the vaccine programme had to be accelerated before the country could be reopened.
At the same event, deputy chief medical officer Ronan Glynn said the vaccine was "our most powerful tool" in battling the virus.
"There are brighter days ahead," he said.
Reports that the EU would receive only half of its intended supply of the AstraZeneca vaccine in the second quarter of the year appeared to overshadow the launch.
However, Health Minister Stephen Donnelly insisted the shortage had been factored into the Government's target of having 60pc of the country's adults fully vaccinated by the end of June.
It is hoped 82pc of all adults will have received their first vaccine at the same date.
The new plan was launched after the Cabinet agreed to extend Level 5 restrictions until April 5, while reopening schools and childcare on a phased basis.
Around 320,000 students will return to school on March 1, including junior and senior infants, first and second class and Leaving Cert students.
This will be reviewed by Nphet in two weeks and may then lead to the rest of primary school classes and fifth-year secondary students returning to school on March 15.
A review of schools will be carried out on April 12 and, if there are no concerns about the spread of the virus, all other classes may then return.
Childcare will return on a phased basis on March 8, with the State's Early Childhood Care and Education preschool scheme resuming first.
By March 29, it is hoped all childcare services will return if transmission of the virus is under control.
Business supports and the Pandemic Unemployment Payment will be extended until the end of June under the new Covid plan.
A review of overall coronavirus restrictions will be carried out next month ahead of plans to ease these on April 5.
However the Government will only consider lifting the 5km travel ban and it will not permit inter-county movement in the next two months.
It may also allow small groups of people meet outdoors, and some sporting activity.
However, the Government did not provide details on what will be permitted.
Another review will then be carried out in April ahead of restrictions possibly being eased further in May.
It is expected construction will return in April, but the ban on building will remain in place next month despite Housing Minister Darragh O'Brien saying he expected to return on March 5.
The plan was described as "damp squib" and "underwhelming" by a number of senior Government sources yesterday.
Tourism Minister Catherine Martin raised concern at Cabinet that the plan did not go far enough for sectors still shut down due to Government restrictions.
Ms Martin told the Cabinet that sectors, especially those under her brief, expected a roadmap for exiting lockdown and may not believe the new plan contained one.
Irish Hotels Federation president Elaina Fitzgerald Kane called for more support for her industry, saying a failure to do so will have "ramifications for the future of Ireland's tourism offering and for the economy that could take decades to remedy".
The Restaurants Association of Ireland criticised the lack of details for when the hospitality industry could reopen.
"If we are all in this together why are we, the public, businesses and employees, not being informed of the plan for reopening sectors?" CEO Adrian Cummins said.
Labour leader Alan Kelly also said the plan lacked "clear metrics and targets" for easing restrictions and "over-relies on vaccination roll-out".
"This is more of the same, with a reliance on continued lockdowns until vaccines reach enough of the population," he said.
Sinn Féin leader Mary Lou McDonald criticised the delay in introducing a mandatory quarantine programme.
"People are told they can't travel 5km from their home and the Government still has a very reckless approach to international travel through our airports and ports," she said.
It came as Health Minister Stephen Donnelly pulled out of an appearance on RTÉ's Prime Time.
He faced criticism over comments he made on Monday night on RTÉ about schools reopening. A spokesperson said he had to focus on the vaccination programme.
Vitamin D supplements should be part of Covid-19 policy, experts tell Oireachtas committee
A group of health experts has called on policymakers to recognise the role of vitamin D supplements in fighting illness from Covid-19.
The Covit-D Consortium told the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health there is now an extensive body of international research showing the protective role of vitamin D against Covid-19, and supporting the need for population supplementation at higher doses than those currently recommended.
Dr Daniel McCartney, director of human nutrition and dietetics at TU Dublin, said that very large background studies pooling data from dozens of individual trials have described an approximately 10pc reduction in risk of respiratory infection among people taking vitamin D supplements.
They also show a more than 50pc reduction in risk among those with low vitamin D levels to begin with, especially if taking supplements daily.
“So there is robust evidence that vitamin D protects against respiratory infections in general. Since May 2020, geographic studies have shown that Covid-19 incidence and mortality are higher in countries far from the Equator and in countries with confirmed low vitamin D status.
“Furthermore, the population groups who are most likely to be vitamin D deficient are the same groups who have suffered the worst effects of Covid-19. These include older adults, those from BAME [black, Asian and minority ethnic] communities and those who are obese or who have pre-existing diseases such as diabetes or high blood pressure.”
So far the National Public Health Emergency Team (Nphet) has supported the need for people over 65 in particular to take a vitamin D supplement but it said there was still not enough evidence to show it was protective against Covid-19.
Dr McCartney was joined by Professor Rose Anne Kenny, Professor James Walsh and Martin Healy of Trinity College, as well as Professor John Faul, a respiratory consultant.
“From May 2020, data showing a direct relationship between low vitamin D status and increased risk of Sars-CoV-2 infection, severe disease and death emerged.
“These studies included work by Professor Faul in Connolly Hospital, Blanchardstown, which showed much higher ICU admission rates in patients with low vitamin D levels. Are these relationships causal? Well, there are now several studies published showing lower rates of ICU admission, ventilation and death in those given vitamin D during their admission.
“There is also an unpublished public health initiative in Andalucia, Spain, which has demonstrated a remarkable reduction in Covid-19 mortality since vitamin D supplementation of vulnerable older adults started there in mid-November. Yet despite the now dozens of positive studies including tens of thousands of participants, there has been no policy change in Ireland to advance what we believe to be an extremely low-risk, readily implemented, cheap and potentially highly effective intervention to mitigate this public health crisis.
“While some have called for randomised, placebo-controlled trials (RCT) to definitively prove the relationships between vitamin D supplementation and reduced risk, these are now ethically untenable, they are often imprecise and they are wholly impractical in the current crisis given the time required to execute them properly.
“They are also unnecessary; one need only think of the spectacular success of the workplace smoking ban to realise that not every effective public health intervention requires a placebo-controlled RCT behind it.”
Prof James Walsh from the School of Medicine in Trinity College said around seven in 10 people living in Dublin, Kildare and Wicklow are low in the vitamin D in winter.
REGULATION BREACH
Gardaí to hand out fines for travel breaches after beauty salon in Dublin reopened despite Covid restrictions
Christine McTiernan – who runs C&N Beauty Room in Balbriggan – “took a stand” because she believes small businesses should be allowed to operate despite lockdown restrictions requiring all non-essential retail to remain closed.
Gardaí are investigating after a Dublin beauty salon opened to the public yesterday, with the owner arguing she has a constitutional right to earn a living.
Christine McTiernan – who runs C&N Beauty Room in Balbriggan – “took a stand” because she believes small businesses should be allowed to operate despite lockdown restrictions requiring all non-essential retail to remain closed.
Ms McTiernan said her salon had been inundated with calls and was “booked up” within hours.
“I received calls from people in Galway, Wicklow and all over. The reaction has been phenomenal and the support has been great. People have been telling me ‘fair play’,” she said.
“This is for me. I have to do what I have to do to pay my bills. I have to put food on the table, I have to pay my rent. It is for survival. This is the reason why I’m doing this – because I have to survive.”
However, as businesses are currently not allowed to open under Level 5 restrictions, gardaí called to the salon to request Ms McTiernan to close.
A Garda spokesperson said: “Gardaí attended a retail premises on Dublin Street in Balbriggan and are investigating alleged breaches of public-health regulations. A file will be submitted for the Director of Public Prosecution.
“A number of fixed-payment notices will be issued, where appropriate, for breaches of travel restrictions for non-essential reasons.”
Business owners have hit out at the Government’s handling of the Covid-19 pandemic after Cabinet agreed to keep the country in lockdown until at least April 5.
TV chef Paul Treyvaud said his aunt-in-law passed away after contracting Covid-19 last year, yet he’s determined to open his restaurant in July, regardless of public health regulations.
Mr Treyvaud (46), who has appeared on Virgin Media One and hosts Treyvaud Travels on Amazon Prime, said on Twitter: “I have decided I am opening my restaurant July 1, no matter what. That gives them four months to sort out everything. I’ve done everything I’ve been told to do. 55k came in from the UK with the variant, now over 1500 from Brazil. The problem is no longer us. It’s an incompetent Gov.”
The tweet has gone viral with thousands of retweets and likes.
The businessman, who runs Treyvaud’s restaurant in Killarney, Co Kerry, says he will open up and is “prepared to be arrested”.
Mr Treyvaud, originally from south Dublin, said: “I’m not saying I’ll open now – it’s not safe. But I’m giving four months for the Government to get this (virus) under control.
“And if not, I will open up in July. My wife lost her aunt to Covid-19 last year and my wife got it too, so I know how bad this is. I fully understand and I commiserate with anyone who’s lost anyone to Covid-19. But we can’t just look at the Covid situation here – we must look at everything Covid has done, destroying livelihoods.
“I’m not an anti-vaxxer – but if businesses can’t open in rural Ireland to get July and August trade, so many will close. Obviously no one wants to be arrested, or anything like that to happen.
“But I’m prepared to put my neck on the line for my business, 100pc, and to save my livelihood and the livelihoods of my staff.
“They (the Government) didn’t listen to Australia, who told us to put everyone in mandatory quarantine.”
CABIN FEVER
Gardaí to continue high visibility patrols at beauty spots this weekend ahead of dry weather
A milder weekend and prolonged sunshine saw more people out and about on Saturday and Sunday with reports of large crowds attending various beauty spots and parks.
Gardaí will continue their high visibility patrols at popular beauty spots this weekend with a dry spell forecast, after reports of large numbers at public amenities on Saturday and Sunday.
Dry conditions are expected to begin Thursday after an unsettled start to the week, and Gardaí have confirmed they will be operating nationwide checkpoints and high visibility patrols at public amenities across the country this weekend.
“Current regulations and guidelines are still to stay at home and reduce your contacts, only exercise within 5km of your home,” a Garda spokesperson said in a statement.
A milder weekend and prolonged sunshine saw more people out and about on Saturday and Sunday with reports of large crowds attending various beauty spots and parks.
Numerous amenities in the capital were reported as having large crowds with The Phoenix Park seeing particularly high traffic.
The Office of Public Works Twitter account attached to the park asked anyone intending to travel to Phoenix Park to consider walking or cycling as all car parks were near capacity. Eventually the Chapelizod gate was closed due to the numbers arriving.
Many tens of thousands of people live within 5km of many popular tourist attractions and public amenities, Gardaí noted when speaking to the Irish Times yesterday.
In light of the expected increase in numbers out and about this weekend, Gardaí are appealing to the public to plan their activities “in accordance with regulations and guidelines.”
A spokesperson for An Garda Síochána reiterated to Independent.ie that enforcement is a last resort and that members will engage, explain and encourage adherence to Covid-19 guidelines when patrolling this weekend.
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Gardaí to hand out fines for travel breaches after beauty salon in Dublin reopened despite Covid restrictions ', says Trinity professor
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