Covid 19 Part XXXV-956,720 ROI (5,952 deaths) 452,946 NI (3,002 deaths) (08/01) Read OP

That situation would be similar enough to the outdoor dining issue whereby the Gardai said this is an issue & government basically said we're moving with the legislation turn a blind eye

I'd like to see NPHET recommend there own disbandment too or else the government do it ASAP. That would absolutely be the end of it then

Legislative process I guess. By the time the cabinet has met and agreed (at 3pm), then in order to stand down laws, you need to run the whole thing through the same process that you use to put the restrictions in place in the first instance. They can and do manage to get these things done in short order with midnight meetings and votes, but getting it in place before 8pm tonight after a 3pm cabinet meeting is a bit of a stretch.

Having it in place by tomorrow and just advising businesses to open tonight is more pragmatic and less likely to result in some stupid legal error.

Bit of common sense here, if you are able to open tonight passed 8 you should be. Its cause for celebration

I didn't say anything about policing it........

The giddy excitement here is infectious.

Ah I'm an idiot!

For some reason I thought the NPHET info leaked the Friday night.

The only thing about masks & close contact rules is that if the government announce that they will be no longer a requirement in the future that people will take that as a green light from now.

I believe there is as strong case to reopen more slowly in phased steps to allow the public a chance to reacclimatise on the return to normal.

Pulling the plug overnight may cause undue anxiety in the general public where more would retreat into their shells than if we adopted a more gradual approach.

Only frenzy is in this thread my learned friend. Normal people have just been living their lives all along. Have a great day.

Probably the same here.

Shame the HSE won't give us the data.

I reckon they'll be here till march 31st, they'll be finished when the legislation is.

Leo on the news ‘some restrictions can cease immediately as they are only guidance. Other will have to be legislated for’.

I don’t understand how legislation would have to be repealed? Anybody know why this would be the case? Surely it’s a simple thing to amend.

just shows how the government were totally sideswiped by NPHET last night, a good working relationship would have meant some advance indication of their thinking- you’d swear they wanted to put them on the spot. No love lost between that lot.

A little poem I penned to mark the occassion:

They shut down our pubs under public health advice

Hold firm they said, a couple of weeks may suffice

We soon made celebrities out of epidemiologists

And the government became NPHET apologists

So, no handshaking, don't get too close to strangers

Locked-down in our homes to protect those in danger

Out for a walk, but not allowed exceed 5KM

The queues outside Lidl were absolute mayhem

The anti-lockdown brigade grew thicker and thicker

And don't mention the Bulgarian fruit-pickers

And as the pandemic progressed, it became more surreal

We could eventually get a pint with a 9-euro meal

Takeaway pints or drinking outside in the cold

An abundance of caution while we protected the old

Meanwhile, young people were partying on city-centre streets

Dr.Tony was mortified and condemned them in a tweet

The vaccine roll-out began, Pfizer and Moderna to the rescue

But indoor dining and covid certs now became the issue

No standing at the bar, no pints after 8PM

Would we ever get back to normal again?

And finally some sense, and restrictions seem no more

But remember, you could even get a pint during the feckin' war!

I think daily case numbers must stop now also