Minister for Health Simon Harris and family trapped in home by protesters.

Omackeral · 10-02-2019 4:52pm #1

Some headline. Anti-austerity protesters have gathered outside the home of Minister for Health Simon Harris this afternoon.
According to Independent.ie the Harris, his wife and their young baby were in their Wicklow home when up to 20 protestors arrived outside this morning.

His spokesperson said in a statement that they are all currently still inside the house and that the situation is ongoing.

"Minister, his wife and three-week-old daughter remain inside while they await the arrival of the gardaí."

Gardaí have reportedly been in contact and are on their way to the minister's Wicklow home.

The protests come following Harris being under intense public scrutiny in recent weeks.

Story here.

zl1whqvjs75cdy · 10-02-2019 4:55pm

That is an absolutely scummy thing to do.

Atlantic Dawn · 10-02-2019 4:56pm

That's below the belt, by all means protest outside government buildings but not outside his home.

dudara · 10-02-2019 4:57pm

If true, that’s simply not on. I understand that he only recently became a father in January and therefore has a newborn at home.

How would those protestors feel if they were intimidated at their own homes?

Omackeral · 10-02-2019 4:58pm

donkeyoaty0099 wrote: »

That is an absolutely scummy thing to do.

Yeah but the gubberment like. Country's a joke n all.

[Deleted User] · 10-02-2019 5:00pm

It’s ended now. Disgraceful behavior, especially where a newborn baby is involved.

OldMrBrennan83 · 10-02-2019 5:00pm

Absolutely idiotic and undermines any cause, if it happened. Not seen anything official on whether it's true or not though, you know how stories like this can spread so easily.

_

_Brian · 10-02-2019 5:01pm

This doesn’t surprise me.

Can see from water protests onward that there are a very low class mixing with genuine protesters looking for nothing but a cover story to cause trouble and have a go, they’ve no “greater good” in mind, just trouble.

Following politicians home and intimidation of their families is real bad form and discredits all protesters.

Shame on whoever is doing this

[Deleted User] · 10-02-2019 5:01pm

Scum.

Wheeliebin30 · 10-02-2019 5:02pm

What do we expect nowadays?

Protestors egged on by political parties and the media as if it’s ok to target politicians because their the bogey men.

Who would want to become a politician nowadays?

Maybe that’s why they are so inept.

Oh don’t forget John Connors who has a free pass to call our reps scum on live TV without any repercussion.

The future is bright.

super_furry · 10-02-2019 5:02pm

What kind of braindead gob****es are they? Instead of the nurses strike, the children's hospital or the smear-test scandal, tomorrow everyone will be talking about Harris being trapped inside his house with new-born child while a gang of thugs try to make some half-arsed point.

They take the spotlight off what he should be doing, they garner him massive sympathy and ultimately, help him keep his job.

spurious · 10-02-2019 5:03pm

More of the scumbaggery that surrounded Joan Burton in her car.

Very organised and not at all a spontaneous act.

Hurrache · 10-02-2019 5:03pm

Anti everything that has to be paid for from their own pockets as classy as ever.

Plumbthedepths · 10-02-2019 5:04pm

That's convenient.....

Dakotabigone · 10-02-2019 5:06pm

The heat about the hospital is off him temporarily.

listermint · 10-02-2019 5:06pm

spurious wrote: »

More of the scumbaggery that surrounded Joan Burton in her car.

Very organised and not at all a spontaneous act.

Joan was at an official event so protests are fair there tbh.

This outside someone's home is not on, ever.

Trying to tie the two together is a tad disingenuous

Wheeliebin30 · 10-02-2019 5:10pm

Plumbthedepths wrote: »

That's convenient.....

Good man, I suppose it’s all a conspiracy.

OldMrBrennan83 · 10-02-2019 5:11pm

Any links or anything yet that it actually happened?

[Deleted User] · 10-02-2019 5:12pm

I find it difficult to get upset about this. The man, and the Government of which he is a part, has a policy of playing God with people's lives for the sake of placating the electorate. People die because of the choice his Government makes to favour low taxation over human suffering.

I'm sorry he and his family experienced that, but people experience a lot worse every day through his decisions.

Plumbthedepths · 10-02-2019 5:13pm

Wheeliebin30 wrote:

Good man, I suppose itâ€™s all a conspiracy.

Never said it was a conspiracy, just voicing my opinion that it's convenient considering the pressure Harris is under and his forthcoming apology to the Dail. Funny though the protesters left before the Guards came and no footage of the protest anywhere online that I can see. Alan Kelly had a similar experience I believe.

eagle eye · 10-02-2019 5:13pm

So standing outside their homes is a no go?
If it's in any way violent or aggressive or if they enter his property then yes I agree it's not on.
But if they simply protest outside his property then it's a bit different.
I don't know much about the man but maybe it's impossible to get his attention by protesting anywhere else.
Let's be clear here, I'm not backing these people just taking the other side, sorta...
Does he have a constituency office, could that be located at his house?

_Brian · 10-02-2019 5:15pm

listermint wrote: »

Joan was at an official event so protests are fair there tbh.

This outside someone's home is not on, ever.

Trying to tie the two together is a tad disingenuous

The thuggery that surrounded that “protest” is never acceptable. Buncholf out of control knackers.

Wheeliebin30 · 10-02-2019 5:15pm

A Tyrant Named Miltiades! wrote: »

I find it difficult to get upset about this. The man, and the Government of which he is a part, has a policy of playing God with people's lives for the sake of placating the electorate. People die because of the choice his Government makes to favour low taxation over human suffering.

I'm sorry he and his family experienced that, but people experience a lot worse every day through his decisions.

What choice did he make that caused people to die?

TheRiverman · 10-02-2019 5:16pm

Those scumbags should all be identified and jailed.
I think Simon Harris as Minister For Health is out of his depth and should resign,but targeting his private life is evil.

Plumbthedepths · 10-02-2019 5:18pm

TheRiverman wrote:

Those scumbags should all be identified and jailed. I think Simon Harris as Minister For Health is out of his depth and should resign,but targeting his private life is evil.

Jailed for what?

Juanito13 · 10-02-2019 5:19pm

A Tyrant Named Miltiades! wrote: »

I find it difficult to get upset about this. The man, and the Government of which he is a part, has a policy of playing God with people's lives for the sake of placating the electorate. People die because of the choice his Government makes to favour low taxation over human suffering.

I'm sorry he and his family experienced that, but people experience a lot worse every day through his decisions.

There is no excuse for this, yeah he’s out of his depth as a minister but i’m sure his intentions are well placed. This is ****ebag behaviour, simple as.
He has a right to feel safe in his own home just like the rest of us.

strandroad · 10-02-2019 5:19pm

eagle eye wrote: »

So standing outside their homes is a no go?
If it's in any way violent or aggressive or if they enter his property then yes I agree it's not on.
But if they simply protest outside his property then it's a bit different.
I don't know much about the man but maybe it's impossible to get his attention by protesting anywhere else.
Let's be clear here, I'm not backing these people just taking the other side, sorta...
Does he have a constituency office, could that be located at his house?

Would you leave especially with a child into a crowd like this? Hoping that they are civil and won't get physical like they got with Joan? I wouldn't. It's effectively placing them under house arrest.

He has an office in Bray Main St. that's where they should go.

EdgeCase · 10-02-2019 5:21pm

That is below the belt and uncalled for.
You can protest all you like outside a public building like a government department or the Dail.

Whatever your political point of view, there's been a long and good tradition in Ireland of leaving people's personal lives separate from their public lives.

You do not protest outside someone's home. It's hugely intimating and it's totally unfair.

What exactly is this all going to achieve anyway? A politician gets intimidated into resigning and the fiasco that is the health 'system' carries on as it always has totally unreformed.

I don't believe anyone in the country is happy with the status quo in health here and I think we have to start seeing this as a mess that needs to be engaged with and tackled, dealing with all of the systemic problems.

We have a system that should be capable of being engaged with and being able to work cross party and with public involvement to solve this problem.

This isn't France where you've an all-powerful executive and an appointed cabinet drawn from outside politics. The reason you've yellow vests and constant anger in France is they've a democratic system that simply does not work properly and it used to have ***7 year*** executive presidential terms. So stuff was driven through come hell or high water and people took to the streets to her their voices heard. That is not how Ireland works.

Use the very well developed democratic system we have and stop importing crazy from countries that are regarded even by academics as flawed democracies.

It you want to drive ordinary people away from going into politics, screw up the system and create an "us" Vs "them" society, then go around picketing TDs homes.

Absolutely disgraceful approach to getting yourself heard.

[Deleted User] · 10-02-2019 5:21pm

Wheeliebin30 wrote: »

What choice did he make that caused people to die?

How long is a piece of string?

To raise a topical example, the fact that our nurses are rushing around trying to manage twice or three times the number of patients than is safe.

Or how about the lack of primary care facilities that should be able to detect and treat problems, especially in the elderly, before they have to present at an acute hospital?

How about patients lying on trolleys because there isn't the capacity to admit them, when they need medical treatment?

Shall we discuss psychiatric hospitals, and the near absence of public resources for people suffering with mental illness, until they reach a point where they become a danger to themselves or to others?

All of these factors are interrelated, and all reduce the life expectancy of patients who deserve better. This occurs by dint of a conscious decision of our Government to trade health outcomes for middle-class votes.

As I said, I am sorry the Minister experienced this, but there are families struggling every day with a lot worse, because of his decisions.

Juanito13 · 10-02-2019 5:23pm

A Tyrant Named Miltiades! wrote: »

How long is a piece of string?

To raise a topical example, the fact that our nurses are rushing around trying to manage twice or three times the number of patients than is safe.

Or how about the lack of primary care facilities that should be able to detect and treat problems, especially in the elderly, before they have to present at an acute hospital?

How about patients lying on trolleys because there isn't the capacity to admit them, when they need medical treatment?

Shall we discuss psychiatric hospitals, and the near absence of public resources for people suffering with mental illness, until they reach a point where they become a danger to themselves or to others?

All of these factors are interrelated, and all reduce the life expectancy of patients who deserve better. This occurs by dint of a conscious decision of our Government to trade health outcomes for middle-class votes.

As I said, I am sorry the Minister experienced this, but there are families struggling every day with a lot worse, because of his decisions.

All problems that existed prior to his tenure as minister for health. He doesn’t have a magic wand. I’m a frontline worker in the health service, it’s been in ****e for years

Grab All Association · 10-02-2019 5:23pm

I’m sure he’s a nice guy with good intentions but why he ever took this position on in the first place at the start of his political career was political suicide. He needs to resign for his own sake more than the country’s imho. The HSE needs to be dismantled completely and responsibility handed over to county councils/health boards again. The system wasn’t perfect then but it was never this bad. For any political party the minister for health should always be the veteran candidate who is the least likely to run at the next general election.

Minister for Health Simon Harris and family trapped in home by protesters.

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