This afternoon.

Government Buildings, Dublin 2

Taoiseach Leo Varadkar sporting purple hosiery, with Eva Rose Martin (left), who has Cystic Fibrosis, and Ciara Moore at the Launch of Countdown to Cystic Fibrosis Ireland’s 65 Roses Day.

’65 Roses’ is how some children first learn how to say ‘Cystic Fibrosis’ while the symbol in Ireland for ’65 Roses Week’ is a purple rose.

So there.

65 Roses (CFI)

Sam Boal/Rollingnews

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41 thoughts on “Dem Socks”

  1. david

    So purple sock sums it up
    He looks very uncomfortable looking at the children his government has made beg for some sort of access to a waiting list to wait and wait and wait
    To run a country it takes more than a SCUnit fancy socks or catch phrases

  2. Nigel

    ‘’65 Roses’ is how some children first learn how to say ‘Cystic Fibrosis’

    Oh God it’s too late in the afternoon to have my heart wrenched.

    1. Spud

      That really hit me in the feels too.
      Excellent work by whatever agency came up with that idea.

      After doing a similar photoshoot for daff day, is Leo on call for all charity fundraising weeks?
      Genuinely not a dig, but just wondering what the policy is? Must be hard to turn some down if so many others done.

    2. david

      Its beyond heart wrenching
      On another note a customer now in the last days of his life has been just put on the waiting list for a bed and palliative care
      His doctor told him yesterday after being visited at home by the doctor to prescribe morphine of being given a bed last night
      Nothing happened and today nothing so far
      The palliative care has not started yet
      This man is in severe pain and god help him
      Meanwhile boy Harris is busy campaigning for abortion on demand while the health service just gets worse and worse
      Maybe trump should instead of waterboarding terrorist suspects ,simply send them over to experience our health service
      Soon they will be singing like canneries

  3. Brother Barnabas

    varadkar seems to be in a staged photo op every other day

    did other taoisigh do as much?

    1. bisted

      …is this a rhetorical question Barabas…you seem to be the one with the inside track on grassroots FG thinking…

    2. The Old Boy

      My impression is that Varadkar is entirely uncomfortable doing the kissing babies/shaking hands/ploughing/racing school of publicity that were his predecessors’ home territory, so he or his advisors have contrived this new way of getting positive photographs of him in the papers.

      1. Brother Barnabas

        spot on, I’d say

        assume his handlers have put this through focus groups and whatever else, concluding that it’s a good strategy. to me, though, it makes him look like a vapid eejit

  4. Joxer

    So the leader of the country is happy to endorse charity? a failure of central government to cater for its citizens? shameless

    1. ReproBertie (SCU)

      It’s more than a bit ridiculous. If he really wanted to he could make policy or funding decisions that might have an actual impact instead of just getting his picture taken.

  5. GiggidyGoo

    So what colour socks would he wear for
    – opening a food bank? (will he open the new one in Wexford this month?)
    – overseeing an eviction?
    – reaching the magic 10,000 homeless mark?
    – each monthly new record in EDs?
    – meeting FG donors?

  8. david

    Maybe he is pondering what he did for cystic fibrosis when minister for health
    Its different when you sit in an office deciding not to give orkambi without looking into the children eyes
    Or withhold funds to staff a unit in cork which was made possible due to campaigners raising 2 million euro to build it

    1. Rob_G

      “Maybe he is pondering what he did for cystic fibrosis when minister for health” – did he not cure it? I’m outraged!

      “Its different when you sit in an office deciding not to give orkambi without looking into the children eyes” – deciding which medications to fund and not to fund is an awful job that I would not wish on anyone, but I do hope that these things are decided on as coldly-rational a basis as is humanly possible, rather than choosing which disease has the most adorable sufferers.

      1. david

        I disagree
        Anything can be decided
        Its justifying the cost
        Its what value you put on what you are deciding
        I always believe the only drug research allowed is by a group like the world health organisation who develop medicines and drug companies manufacture them .
        The cost then is born by countries paying the WHO.
        For the life of me I cannot see why medicines cannot be perched by the EU and each nation pays the EU
        That would ensure drug prices would not fluctuate state to state
        Its the greed of the drug companies and the inaction to tackle these greedy companies
        Lets face it we are members of the Reich and yet we are paying up to a third more for everything
        Look at car insurance business insurance
        We should be able to shop in the cheapest nation to get cover for Europe is one
        Ever ask why we cannot?
        Answer we are a nation to rip off
        No wonder the Brits said no more

  15. painkiller

    Cutsification is no replacement for strong leadership. Another pandering ass, like Trudeau in Canada – more interested in PR opportunities or shedding tears for mistakes of predecessors than living up to the open style he portrays – anything to avoid taking blame on the chin, engaging meaningfully or making firm commitments on his watch.

    Jesus, this man fallen a long way from where he began in 2007…

  18. ahjayzis

    He’s a Thatcherite trashbag and all, but…

    …christ he’s a handsome man who can take a cute photo.

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