'There needs to be mutual respect' - Opposition condemn Tánaiste's attack on Nphet

(Left to right) Dr Tony Holohan, Dr Ronan Glynn and Professor Philip Nolan, leaving Government Buildings yesterday. Tánaiste Leo Varadkar appeared on RTÉ's Claire Byrne show and heavily criticised the National Public Health Emergency Team's (Nphet) Level 5 recommendation. Photo: Sasko Lazarov / RollingNews.ie

Opposition politicians have slammed the Tánaiste for his "unwarranted and unhelpful attack" on Dr Tony Holohan.

Tánaiste Leo Varadkar appeared on RTÉ's Claire Byrne show and heavily criticised the National Public Health Emergency Team's (Nphet) advice to move the country to Level 5, which he blasted "was not thought through" and "should not have happened".

The public criticism has been met with shock and disappointment from the public and some government TDs, as well as opposition parties.

Fianna Fáil junior minister Thomas Byrne said today he did not agree with Leo Varadkar's sentiments, while Minister for Public Expenditure, Michael McGrath says government and Nphet will have to "reboot" their relationship.

"They are public servants who are working really hard.

"The working relationship needs to be close. There needs to be mutual respect and mutual trust."

The Social Democrats said the appearance served as a distraction for a country crying out for leadership as it battles a resurgence of the virus.

"I think last night's interview with the Tánaiste was particularly disappointing," co-leader Roisin Shorthall said.

"The attack he launched on Nphet and Dr Tony Holohan, in particular, was unwarranted and unhelpful and served as a serious distraction from the task at hand which is to encourage us all to work together to suppress this virus, it's really unfortunate this happened and that the Tánaiste did it."

Likewise, Sinn Féin have accused the government of "squaring up", with Mary Lou McDonald saying it is "unseemly".

The party leader said: "Because we had the optics of the Tánaiste squaring off against the Nphet and CMO, I think it's unseemly and I think it's wrong for the government to answer back in relation to concerns that they have raised to healthcare capacity for example, because all of the advice that Nphet gives is given in good faith.

"These are people who are tasked with a very difficult job to navigate our way through and evaluate the risks coming from in relation to Covid, make recommendations to government, and of course then the government has to make decisions.

📻 "NPHET and Tony Holohan are not responsible for the fact that our public health system has been run-down and under-resourced, that's on Leo Varadkar and Micheál Martin" – @MaryLouMcDonald #Level3 #Covid_19 pic.twitter.com/Amy7wfxI7d

— Sinn Féin (@sinnfeinireland) October 6, 2020

"The government has to act, I completely accept that, but it's unacceptable that we have a push back.

"Yesterday we had 276 adult ICU beds that were operational fully staffed, only 38 of those were vacant. So I can completely understand Nphet's concern in relation to healthcare capacity.

"What I want to see the government do over the next while is not to answer back, but to actually do their job, step up to the plate, invest in ICU capacity, invest in acute bed capacity and restore the income supports for families and for workers."