The news that there may be changes to the opening times for pubs and nightclubs when they reopen and also the likelihood that galleries, theatres and exhibition places will be granted licences has made me wonder about the speed at which these changes can be implemented.
The decision of our Government to introduce minimum unit pricing in conjunction with Northern Ireland was always going to be problematic.
No surprise really when you consider that when the Public Health Alcohol Bill became law in October 2018 the Northern Ireland assembly had already collapsed and didn’t reopen for almost three years.
Meanwhile the “How low can we go” price wars between the multi-nationals continued, accompanied by their worn out meaningless advice to drink alcohol responsibly, a vain attempt to show concern.
It is 10 years since we lost our son David to alcohol-related suicide. At the time we asked that the sale of cheap alcohol be addressed. It is ironic to think that after years of lobbying by the alcohol industry to derail the Public Health Alcohol Bill the blame for the delay in implementing Minimum Unit Pricing lays with our Government.
It’s time to go it alone and I would ask the minister to enact the act now.
John Higgins
Ballina
Co Mayo
Let’s be clear Taoiseach, be clear
As someone who specialises in crisis communications, I know only too well the weight of words.
An Taoiseach should comprehend the added weight of his words during a crisis, and that a public comment could be life or death to some, but especially to those whose livelihoods are being ripped apart by this pandemic.
I refer, of course, to the vague comment made on Raidio Na Gaeltachta by An Taoiseach over the weekend on the hospitality sector not re-opening until mid-summer.
A strategic approach to communications for a crisis should be constantly revised and revisited to ensure those who will be speaking to the press are advised on the best approach to filtering messages to the public and, above all, making these messages as clear and unambiguous as possible.
It seems to me that our current Government is lacking in effective strategic communications and instead seems to be taking the “hoping for the best” approach.
The mood of the country is at an all-time low, with what feels like no end in sight. Now, more than ever, we need a leader who will speak to us directly, keep us informed, and reassure us that they know what they are doing and not hoping that leaking some information and drip- feeding communications will be sufficient for us to “keep calm and carry on”.
While empathetic leadership seems to be a foreign concept to this Irish Government, now, more than ever, we need to hear and see a true leader who communicates with us not through titbits in PR interviews, but regular press briefings and clear communication. An Taoiseach should understand the weight of his words and the extreme consequences that they can have on those people going through what is, no doubt, one of the most difficult experiences they will have in their lifetime.
Ciara Jordan
Head of Communications
Fuzion Communications
Shannon and US military’s Covid risk
Over the past few weeks three aircraft transporting at least 300 US soldiers and aircraft crew members to and from the Middle East, were allowed spend overnights at Shannon Airport and most of these 300 US personnel were allowed enter Ireland and were accommodated in several different hotels in Counties Limerick and Clare, without complying with proper Covid-19 regulations. Included were a US Navy aircraft on January 25 with 48 soldiers and five crew, an Omni air aircraft on contract to the US military on January 28 with 226 soldiers plus crew, and a US air force aircraft on February 8 with an estimated three crew members and four passengers.
On February 22 the Department of Health statistics revealed that Limerick had the highest percentage of Covid-19 cases in the country.
While there are multiple sources for these cases and they might not be associated with the US military, it is irresponsible for the Irish Government and the authorities at Shannon airport to be continuing to allow the US military to be transiting through Shannon airport especially during this most dangerous period of the pandemic.
Edward Horgan
Castletroy
Co Limerick
Davy and Co are playing a blinder
Sunday and Monday evenings RTÉ TV viewing of Ireland’s Fittest Families and Davy’s Toughest Team was some of the best that we have had on TV in years.
If one needed relief from the boredom of Covid, then Davy and the groups involved provided the ultimate in entertainment.
To the winning O’Mahony family, and to the seven lads in the toughest team my heart goes out to both groups.
To Davy and his back-up squads, you deserve the highest praise.
If you want a “person of the year”, then Davy comes out on top in sport and entertainment.
Also, the lift he has given Wexford over the past number of years is just enormous. From a Lily on Slaneyside... thank you Davy.
Tony Fagan
Enniscorthy
Co Wexford
Step out of shade and let vit D shine
In Sharon Nà Chonchúir’s article (Can a vitamin put Covid in the shade? Feelgood, Irish Examiner, Feb 19) she highlighted how the focus in the last few months has been on the possible role for vitamin D in protection against Covid-19. It is also important that the use of vitamin D in chronic pain is not forgotten.
General population estimates of vitamin D deficiency have come from large internatioanl population studies. The prevalence of vitamin D deficiency, also referred to as hypovitaminosis D [where serum 25(OH)D levels 50 nmol/l] was found to range between 26% and 86% of individuals attending Swiss rheumatology and chronic pain clinics. In fact in Irish adults serum vitamin D levels are recognised as been below average highlight the need for greater attention (McCartney et al. 2020).
A simple blood test can identify the condition and a daily supplement can rectify the issue.
Although there is no concrete evidence that vitamin D supplementation is an effective treatment for chronic pain, no contraindications for the use of vitamin D supplementation among chronic pain patients exist, as vitamin D poses a low health risk in general, is generally well accepted, and is inexpensive.
So step out of the shade and let the vitamin D shine!
Dr Dominic A Hegarty
Consultant in Pain Management
& Neuromodulation,
Mater Private Hospital
Cork
Time to get tough with Israel minister
Last November, Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade, Simon Coveney, denounced the Israeli military’s destruction of the Palestinian village of Khirbet Humsa as a “brutal and violent act”.
Last week, the Israeli military demolished the village again, destroying humanitarian items donated by Ireland and other EU countries.
Mr Coveney must know by now
that the Israeli government care nothing for his words. Condemnations without the realistic threat of sanctions can only be regarded as empty platitudes.
Last year, Mr Coveney strongly
opposed the inclusion of the
Occupied Territories Bill in the programme for government. This prompts the question: What action does Mr Coveney propose in response to the Israeli state’s aggressive expansionism?
Given Mr Coveney’s insistence that our nation’s response should be within a context of EU consensus, he should campaign for Israel to be suspended from the Euro-Med Trade Agreement for its flagrant violation of the human rights protocols upon which access is supposed
to depend.
And if EU consensus on this eminently justifiable step proves impossible to reach, Mr Coveney should recognise, once and for all, that it falls to our nation’s legislators to end Ireland’s complicity in expansionist war crimes in the West Bank and elsewhere.
Brian Ó Éigeartaigh
Donnybrook
Dublin 4
