Daniel McConnell: Ireland bamboozled by mixed messages on Covid
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ANY HEAD of an organisation knows the importance of clarity of message — the need for a team to speak with one voice. They recognise the dangers of mixed messaging, and the need to avoid it.
This week, yet again, the public has been treated with an appalling disregard by the Government and its agencies charged with managing our response to the Covid-19 pandemic.
A week of confusion has left the public, business owners, and employees bamboozled as to what the right thing to do is.
Legally, bars and nightclubs are open — but can we go out? Are we to work from home or not?
Can we go to our Christmas parties or not? Will I need my cert to get my hair cut, or won’t I?
There is mounting anger within Government departments at the latest round of shenanigans from the Department of Health.
The department went on a solo run last week by reinstating the ban on working from the office while all others have stayed true to the stated Government policy of blended working.
Then, there was the sight of health minister Stephen Donnelly blatantly contradicting his chief medical officer, Tony Holohan, on a major issue of concern for the public.
At his weekly briefing, Dr Holohan said he felt it would be a good idea to expand the use of Covid-19 certs beyond the hospitality sector.
Mr Donnelly shot down that idea the next morning.
He made clear there is no talk of returning to lockdowns, the certs will not be used, and the Government is not asking people to go back to working from home, as ‘Big Tony’ did.
Given all that, looking at Donnelly and the latest round of chaos between Government and its troublesome child, Nphet, one is left asking the question — just how hard is it to coordinate your message with one of your subordinates, whose office is just three doors away on the same floor?
Word has it the relationship between Donnelly and his chief medical officer is strained at present.
The recent publication of journalist Richard Chambers’ book, — which contained plenty of criticism of Donnelly from within Nphet — has, according to sources, put further pressure on the relationship.
But, aside from the personality difficulties, the past week has shown us just exactly what we can expect between now and Christmas.
With case numbers high and added strain on the health service, we are back into this frustrating cycle of speculation around the likelihood of a return of restrictions. The nonsense of are we, or are we not, going back into lockdown?
Nphet say one thing, ministers say something else for days on end, until a Cabinet decision is taken, but which had been widely leaked in advance.
The whole thing is a farce.
I have long harboured concerns around letting Nphet become a quasi alternative power bloc to Government.
Unelected, unaccountable people making critical decisions about how to run the country — among the most extreme and restrictive in all of Europe — is deeply disconcerting.
By allowing Nphet to hold weekly press conferences, unfiltered and unfettered from the political system, has proven to be a critical mistake.
Rather than one clear voice communicating with the people, we have chaos.
Plenty of ministers deeply resent the platform afforded to Dr Holohan and Nphet. There is concern about the power and influence they have had. We have seen an effective sidelining of the full Cabinet in favour of a sub-committee made up of the three party leaders, some of the more important ministers and, of course, Nphet and HSE bosses.
The sub-committee has been the true clearinghouse and decision-making body in Government during the pandemic, with the politicians keeping slavishly to the zealous public health proposals on a regular basis.
Time and time again, I have had senior ministers ring me to find out what is being proposed the night before Cabinet as I, and other senior political journalists, tended to know more than those elected decision-makers.
It cuts to the utter folly of how this pandemic continues to be managed.
While it made sense in the early days of the pandemic to have Nphet front and centre, that is no longer the case. Take their advice, of course, but the Government must assert some authority.
What also needs to be highlighted are the genuine concerns about the extension of the emergency powers until February without a proper legal or scientific rationale.
People will say ‘it’s no big deal’, or ‘we are wearing our masks anyway’. The erosion of civil liberties in an emergency may be just tolerable, but extending those limitations in perpetuity is not acceptable.
Nphet has now recommended to Government the extension of the use of the Covid-19 certificate in areas beyond the hospitality sector. It is understood that Nphet does not specify where the certificates could be used, and any extension could require new legislation.
This would be a futile exercise.
There is no evidence the presence of the Covid-19 cert on entering pubs, nightclubs, and elsewhere has had any impact whatsoever on limiting the spread of the disease.
In its latest letter, Nphet does not recommend the re-imposition of social and economic restrictions for now. The ‘for now’ part is important. It warned that such a move cannot be ruled out in the future. The sword of Damocles hanging ever still above our heads.
What’s worse is that we continue to have a succession of individual Nphet members being trotted out on the airwaves giving their own personal views as to how bad things are, each one more pessimistic than the last.
After 20 months of some of the harshest lockdowns anywhere, the Irish people have done their part. We have a 95%+ vaccination rate to show our willingness to comply.
What is not acceptable is the continuing scaremongering and mixed messaging which has led to many elderly people self-cocooning again, we hear.
Next Tuesday’s Cabinet meeting is the opportunity to put an end to the confusion, doublespeak, and chaos. It is a time for the political class to shake off its shame over last Christmas and do what they need to do to avoid making a mess of this year’s festivities and holiday period.
It is not too much to ask that, after 20 months, the Government should know what it is doing.