The Taoiseach said the plan for exiting the country’s lockdown is not “set in stone”, as he denied claims the Government is confusing the public.
Micheál Martin said the Government is taking a “conservative” approach in easing health restrictions over the coming months.
Asked whether there will be a nine-week extension of lockdown measures, Mr Martin said the Government will be “very cautious” in its decisions.
He said the National Public Health Emergency Team (Nphet) has given advice to the Cabinet sub-committee and urged caution in reopening society and the economy.
“The emphasis on the prioritisation right now is on schools, particularly the early years and then the Leaving Certificate cohort and childcare,” Mr Martin said on Friday.
“We will review it in a monthly basis and the vaccine rollout may have an impact. We are beginning to see a reduction in the number of healthcare workers getting the virus and the outbreaks are coming down.”
Mr Martin said the Government’s messaging has not been confusing.
He also said there will be no large-scale reopening of construction.
Schools and childcare
Meanwhile, the Tánaiste said schools and childcare will reopen on a phased basis next month after public health officials gave the green light to Government.
Advice from Nphet was that pupils could return to classrooms during March and through to the Easter break.
Leo Varadkar sounded a warning that the reopening of any other parts of society or the economy could jeopardise the reopening of the education sector.
He appealed to the public to “dig deep” for a few more weeks.
“We are on the right track again – cases, hospitalisations, ICUs numbers are all falling,” he told RTÉ.
“But they’re still high, they’re almost as high as they were at the peak of the first wave and that’s why we need to proceed with caution, particularly with the B117 variant dominant in the country.”
He said that 80,000 doses of Covid-19 vaccines were administered this week, with a further 100,000 doses expected next week.
Mr Varadkar said the National Immunisation Advisory Committee (Niac) said that Government can now prioritise some of the under 70s group who have underlying medical conditions.
“We are also going to see hospitals relieved of pressure throughout the course of March,” he added.
Mr Varadkar denied that the Taoiseach said Level 5 restrictions would last until May.
Mr Martin told the Irish Mirror in an interview on Thursday that “severe” lockdown measures will be in place until the end of April.
Mr Varadkar said on Friday: “What the Taoiseach said last night is that we are facing into tough restrictions into April and that’s correct.
“He didn’t say that we will have Level 5 lockdown for nine weeks or that it’s going to go on until May.”
Taoiseach's casual, flippant announcement of a further nine weeks of lockdown has caused anger and distress. People's lives have been turned upside down. Govt internal rivalry, leaks and dithering adds stress upon stress. #COVID19 #COVID #level5
— Mary Lou McDonald (@MaryLouMcDonald) February 19, 2021
Sinn Féin’s Mary Lou McDonald called on the Taoiseach to hold a Cabinet meeting this weekend and provide clarity on the extension of lockdown restrictions.
She said it was “not acceptable” that Irish people were facing more speculation and uncertainty.
“Not only have we had leaks and contradictions and headlines in the newspapers, now we face into another weekend of more speculation and more uncertainty, and that is just really, really unfair,” she said.
“It’s a really unfair way for this Government to behave and it is unacceptable.”
Ms McDonald said Mr Martin's interview with the Mirror had caused people “huge anger, stress and, in some cases, despair”.
“What people see is not just a difficult set of circumstances because of this pandemic and this virus, but they see a Government that is at sixes and sevens, that dithers, that leaks, that speculates and that is built more on rivalry than any sort of purpose,” she said.
“That’s not good enough.”
