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Aoife McLysaght appointed Science Advisor to Government

Shan Doras

Lunatic vaccine denier Aoife McLysaght, who claimed things could never return to normal after covid, and that masking had to become permanent even for 4 year olds in Junior infants has been appointed Science Advisor to the Government of Ireland.

https://archive.ph/kso8V

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conorhal

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122714221#Comment_122714221

We badly need a bonfire of the quango's, there are so many of these orgs funded by the government to provide cushy 'grace and favour' do nothing jobs for the politically connected, just to add another pay check to the pile and 'provide policy advice' to moronic ministers that wish to deflect the responsibility for making a single decision for themselves.

No doubt when kids are handed 'puberty blockers' like skittles, it will be on the 'scientific advice' of a woman that thinks the seperation of men's and women's sports is a 'misoginistic conspiracy'.

tarvis

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122712314#Comment_122712314

to distract from her views on what makes a woman - DNA or drugs/ surgery and clothing choice?

landofthetree

On opening retail in December, she added: "If we open one sector of the economy, then the other sectors will just not be able to open ever again.

"We'll never see our restaurants and pubs open again if we open retail now."

https://www.thesun.ie/news/6173186/pubs-restaurants-never-reopen-retailers-allowed-december-professor/

Probably the crazy moment on Irish TV I've ever seen.

lostinsuperfunk

This position has a very bad track record, probably because it is a political appointment.

The first person to hold the position, although a high-achieving scientist, was found to have bought his doctorate from a diploma mill.

Later on, another appointee was found to have "dual published" research, a violation of scientific ethics.

The bar has been set low. However some posters here seem more interested in attacking Prof. Lysaght for her views on trans issues and her "zero covid" track record rather than her scientific track record.

Zero covid does look extreme with the benefit of hindsight, but it was a hugely uncertain time with limited understanding of the virus. It was a risk-averse position but hardly "lunatic", and what you would probably expect from a scientist.

Likewise, the views on trans issues are not remarkable and are probably shared by the majority of the population or at least a large minority.

I wish the Professor well!

rightmove

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122720070#Comment_122720070

Its Ireland, so the lunatics are given the keys to the asylum.

[Deleted User]

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122711725#Comment_122711725

Not true in the sense that building regs mandate 6" holes in every room for ventilation. Its totally crazy but a modern A rated homes are over ventilated if anything.

What needs to be added is mandated mechanical heat recovery in all A rated homes.

donaghs

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122724598#Comment_122724598

She was zero-covid long after everyone else had seen sense and wanted to wind down the restrictions.
Her statements (not just on Covid) come across like religious zealotry, not a curious scientific mind.

She’s “unrepentant” about zero covid.

charlie14

I would not see anything to even suggest she was or is anti Covid vaccines.

If someone`s position as an advisor on epidemics was to keep me awake at night, Johan Giesecke the architect behind Sweden`s chasing naturally acquired herd immunity who was appointed in late 2020 as vice-chair of the W.H.O. Strategic and Technical Advisory Group on Infectious Hazards as special advisor to Director-General Tedros Ghebreyesus on pandemic response, she would be a long way futher down that line than Giesecke.

Avon8

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122724598#Comment_122724598

Even if we play that game, give a huge benefit to hindsight, gloss over gross underperformance in scientific predictions & modelling, ignore the insane claims by ISAG that weren't entertained in any other scientific community, and try to move past the loss of life from excess deaths, or much smaller issues like the contribution to the housing crises or the economic damage from money printing.

You're missing one huge question there with your analysis. Why?

Why was ISAG formed? Why did it mostly consist of scientists from different fields, very few of whom were qualified experts in infectious diseases? Who brought them together? Why did they actively target journalists sympathetic to their views?

Why did they "look for ways to increase insecurity, anxiety and uncertainty " (an email that their head, Anthony Staines, has admitted to sending). Why did they feed government officials information that "may or may not be true" in order to give the government the chance to "line up with our proposals".

Seriously, what on earth was going on with this group? At best they were taking advantage of a worry stricken public at an opportune time. The worst is something far more sinister. What was their motive? Who was funding it all?

She should be getting investigated by the government and instead she's going into a high profile government position on a huge salary. That is as mind blowing strange as it is sickening and disturbing

lostinsuperfunk

Even if we play that game,

I'm not playing a game.

plodder

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122724598#Comment_122724598

I wish her well too. Nobody is right all the time. So, long as we can learn from past experiences and mistakes, that is what matters.

Likewise, the views on trans issues are not remarkable and are probably shared by the majority of the population or at least a large minority.

A "majority or at least a large minority" of an increasingly insular and captured elite more like.

I'd be interested to know what her views on the Cass Review are. A lot of people who repeat that TWAW slogan in her tweet, are tending to reject it for ideological rather than scientific reasons.

jackboy

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122732695#Comment_122732695

She would be better off not discussing trans issues. She has far more important things to be focusing on.

[Deleted User]

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122724598#Comment_122724598

I doubt even a large minority denies biology. It is remarkable for a scientist to state that man/woman is determined by gender not biological sex.

[Deleted User]

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122713221#Comment_122713221

She doesn't have a weak understanding of it. She understands it perfectly well - 100% of us do from a very early age. Pretending for ideological reasons is not the same as not understanding.

donaghs

I was just thinking what’s Aoife been up to since she was appointed last year. I can’t find any evidence of anything from googling.

Her twitter posts are still readable, nothing I can see since 2023. Some of it quite fanatical and crazy from the “zero covid” perspective: https://x.com/aoifemcl?lang=en

crusd

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123189955#Comment_123189955

Must be odd to live a life that has you randomly thinking of an Evolutionary geneticist who hasn't been in public discourse in ages and who has never really been in position of power or been prominent for delivering anything that has crossed outside of science. You have to admit, it is a little odd

donaghs

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123190284#Comment_123190284

Well, I was very surprised by her appointment, once I started reading about her. For someone who was such a heavy social media user, I thought that there would be some PR - or anything really to show what’s being done in a public role, with a salary advertised in May 2024 of €160,000.

VinLieger

She was a member of ISAG who there are internals emails from the group showing they actively pushed their members to engage in ways to increase insecurity, anxiety and uncertainty and to go after people and not institutions because “people hurt faster than institutions". They did all this to push their zero covid agenda which they were effectively zealots for.

EmmetSpiceland

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123190359#Comment_123190359

Maybe she’s busy?

donaghs

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123190394#Comment_123190394

unlike every other other person in the public service who makes announcements, does photos ops, does interviews, appears at events etc !! :)

Hotblack Desiato

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122713520#Comment_122713520

Somebody was funding these people to colour public opinion.

The fact that one of these absolute charlatans, who was clearly funded by a vested interest,

Evidence? Any, at all?

Public opinion my hole. 90% (being generous here) of the Irish public had no idea what ISAG was. Just because certain people on Boards or Twitter were obsessing about them doesn't mean that that is representative of the public

VinLieger

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123199351#Comment_123199351

Im not agreeing they they were funded by some shadowy cabal but they were regularly on all forms of news media spouting their nonsense to try and sway public opinion towards their zero covid agenda. Just because people didnt know what ISAG was doesn't mean they weren't hearing or reading their stuff on a weekly basis.

Astral Nav

She's now on a stamp. A living person, a current government advisor and a member of a rather strange lobby group gets put on a stamp.

Jizique

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123246116#Comment_123246116

Big spread in the Irish Times today as well, didn't see much mention of covid glancing through it

skimpydoo

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123189955#Comment_123189955

Maybe she moved to Bluesky.

donaghs

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123246130#Comment_123246130

https://m.independent.ie/irish-news/they-only

I see it now in the news.

probably not an appropriate time for journalists to bring up her zero covid stuff, or her opposition to sex/gender divides in sport.

also some involvement in Ireland joining CERN recently

https://www.msn.com/en-ie/news/other/part-of-the-family-ireland-s-application-to-join-cern-accepted-in-principle-after-delegation-visit/ar-AA1znZgq

hamburgham

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122708942#Comment_122708942

I wonder how much they are being paid for these positions. I think the salary should be announced anytime the government announces a position like this or that someone has been appointed to chair a review etc. It’s our money.

Jizique

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123246513#Comment_123246513

McLysaght's salary was announced, and it is closer to 200k than 100k.

Speaking of Covid, another nutter, Anthony Staines, get a feature in today's Sindo to celebrate his starring role in the zero Covid camp five years ago.

My name is URL

"Women in STEM".. seems like such a demeaning thing to say. I get the purpose of it, but c'mon.

Hey so tell us about yourself, "I'm a scientist but also a WOMAN!"