Alison O'Connor: Patience and tempers fray, but a sense of unity must be preserved

The pressure-cooker conditions are difficult and everyone is tired - but we must still all be in this together

Tánaiste Leo Varadkar, who has called the latest Covid restrictions peculiar, pictured alongside Dr Tony Holohan. Picture: Sam Boal

THE difficulty is in organising a détente between the squabbling sides. But that is exactly what is needed to repair relations between the Government and Nphet.

Group hugs are not currently allowed and it’s likely to take more than a paintball session in some woodland. For maximum chances of success, we may be looking at a Zoom weekend retreat with a highly experienced facilitator — either way this situation needs sorting and fast. Standing back from it, the row is hardly a surprise when you consider the pressure-cooker conditions that both sides have been operating under for such a sustained period of time.

Repairing this bust-up will take patience and humility on both sides and a healthy dose of perspective. It will also require the setting aside of petty jealousies, less bullheadedness, a genuine recognition of the fragility of the human condition, and less concentration on party politics. There is also no getting away from the very robust egos in this mix. On this, we plead: Please park them, lads.

It is worth reflecting on past, impressive, successes in terms of how Ireland has managed such incredible social cohesiveness through a global pandemic that keeps taking us to places we simply do not want to be.

It should help that there is fault on both sides here — although, as mentioned earlier, this sort of acknowledgement is often only achieved through the interventions of an expert facilitator. Any volunteers out there? The politicians need to acknowledge to themselves how they have been so jealous for so long of the profile of Nphet, particularly of chief medical officer Tony Holohan. In turn, Nphet, in particular Dr Tony, needs to have respect for the job the Government needs to do.

This all appears very basic stuff, but unfortunately it’s where things are at right now. 

Just as you might say to your child having trouble on the playground, it’s often worth seeing where the other person is coming from and try and recognise what is motivating them.

There are, of course, strong shades of pot, kettle, and black in the Government accusing Nphet of being leakier than a colander. After all, it is not that long ago we heard of leaks texted directly from the Cabinet table regarding decisions that were being taken by ministers. Who knows better only Taoiseach Micheál Martin and Tánaiste Leo Varadkar how leaky it can be when you get a large group of people together — once the Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael parliamentary party meetings went online, there were shades of a weekly soap opera as journalists tweeted the human drama, I mean, proceedings, virtually in real time.

The Government has covered itself in little glory in recent times with its mixed messaging, whether that be to do with pantomimes, antigen tests, testing for travel, or Varadkar describing the latest restrictions as “peculiar”.

But there is no doubt that some of the communications we have had from Nphet of late — both officially and unofficially — have not been largely helpful.

This is in terms of people maintaining the trust that has largely served us so well so far. I think it’s worth going back to that meeting in Government Buildings , over three weeks ago, attended by members of the Cabinet subcommittee on Covid: Tony Holohan, his deputy Ronan Glynn, HSE boss Paul Reid, and Colm Henry, chief clinical officer.

This column previously addressed the complicated dynamics at play that night and the overspill from a year ago when Nphet’s sudden recommendation for tougher restrictions drew strong criticism — most publicly by the Tánaiste on Claire Byrne Live.

Rocky relationship

The HSE personnel present did not feel heard by the Cabinet members present in terms of the pressure hospitals were coming under from the latest surge. The CMO took rather a passive role that night. Remember also that a rocky relationship exists between Holohan and Reid.

In the intervening weeks, that baggage has not disappeared and the situation has been added to by the appearance of the Omicron variant and the huge uncertainty that has surrounded it. It’s been well-rehearsed that Glynn posted a video in October advising people to work from home where possible when this was not official Government policy. 

It was rather waspishly observed at the time that this video had been recorded from his own workplace the Department of Health. Then, last week, Holohan wrote directly to the parents of Ireland. “Like he is the president of Ireland or something”, said one well-placed source, who went on to compare the wider Nphet body as “being like the Seanad in terms of usefulness”.

The meetings go on forever, but even then it’s well known that members think Tony has already decided before he goes in what the result is going to be.

Still there was a time when Holohan was our absolute rock in this pandemic and we would be foolish to forget that. It was January 27, 2020, when the National Public Health Emergency Team for Covid-19 was established at a time when political parties all had their eye on an upcoming general election. Remember that a Government was not subsequently formed until almost July. Holohan was the bulwark we needed during those long months. The politicians seething at how well-regarded he was simply had to swallow hard.

But times have changed and undoubtedly got more complicated. Lockdowns are difficult but they are fairly clearcut in terms of what is being demanded. The territory has become far more complicated of late, with vaccinations, personal choice, further restrictions, “advice”, and new variants. 

Our collective state of being beyond exhaustion with all of this does not help either.

So, as often happens with the Government, the intent in trying to keep the central message clear is a good one, but the execution leaves a lot to be desired.

It would be a disaster for public trust if people felt that the public health advisers had been muzzled. Yet those advisers have to realise that the politicians also have a job to do, and theirs is actually a more complicated one with all the competing demands of keeping the economy going and also keeping everyone safe.

Preserving that sense of unity is important. We’ve gotten so much done so far, by fostering that, and using persuasion.

Everyone is tired, not least those have been in positions of leadership these past two years. But the important fact remains: We are all in this together, still.