Revellers queue for Copper Face Jacks, Dublin last month
This morning.
In the Irish Times:
Olga Cronin (Olga!), of the Irish Council for Civil Liberties, writes:
To assess the proportionality of the Covid pass system, evidence must be established to demonstrate both effectiveness and assess the negative impact on rights. These tests, to ensure compliance with human rights, can be determined only by regular review of the system.
Since its introduction in July 2021, there has not been any such review or any evidence seen of the extent to which the Covid pass system has curbed Covid-19.
Vaccines are not mandatory in Ireland. To mandate them would raise serious ethical and legal questions about consent. As such, enforcing a vaccine passport disproportionately affects the fundamental rights of those unvaccinated.
Crucially, unlike many other EU countries, Ireland’s vaccine passport does not include an option for negative testing. This omission is particularly perplexing given our extremely high vaccination rate, and the fact that the underpinning legislation provides for the possibility that testing could be included in the system.
Although there are varying levels of vaccination across different jurisdictions, Belgium, Cyprus, Italy, Luxembourg, Galicia and Canary Islands in Spain, and France all include testing where access restrictions are imposed based on health status. When Denmark used a pass, it included testing. The Israeli system includes a 72-hour pass via testing.
The Irish Council for Civil Liberties (ICCL) wrote to the Government in August to ask if and when this would be given effect. We have not received a response.
Including a testing option provides the least restrictive or infringing measure on people’s right to decide not to be vaccinated. It also provides for people who cannot receive the vaccination. It’s one of the reasons why testing was included in the EU digital Covid certificate.
Minister for Health Stephen Donnelly was wrong when he told the Dáil in July when passing the Bill underpinning the cert that “the entire EU digital Covid certificate is based on vaccination status”.
The very regulation underpinning the EU certificate states:
“It is necessary to prevent direct or indirect discrimination against persons who are not vaccinated, for example, because of medical reasons, because they are not part of the target group for which the Covid-19 vaccine is currently administered or allowed, such as children, or because they have not yet had the opportunity or choose not to be vaccinated.”
Indeed, the inclusion of testing was one of the main reasons the supreme court in Spain and the constitutional court in France ruled in favour of permitting such systems for a limited period in Galicia and France….[more at link below]
Negative tests should be included in Covid pass (Olga Cronin, Irish Times)
Typical Irish exceptionalism – whats most worrying is that nothing is done about it.
The government are clearly discriminating, but they get no flak from media, and you’d be surprised if courts even ruled against them. All the pillars of Irish society exist solely to back the government, not represent the people.
By far, the most accurate way of determining if someone is or is not infectious has been dismissed by the high hands, without explanation.
A proper journalist would be looking into the potential vested interest of one or more of those making these decisions or course.
It stinks to the high heavens.
excellent Olga !
Sounds alright – as long as it’s clear to the public how many unvaxxed folks are in a venue if an outbreak happens … as difficult as that is to trace…
Also – for people who don’t believe in covid and/or the reliability of PCR tests etc… etc… I look forward to ignoring the nonsense you are all going to post on this one…
So you have no concern about those who are vaccinated which are also carrying COVID? And PCR tests have been shown to be useless time and time again…antigen tests are the only thing worthwhile, which if we are serious about preventing outbreaks everyone should be showing to enter anywhere.
Only an ignorant, arrogant fool would think they know better than the inventor of the PCR test.
Again with the insults, what is with some people on here, awful manners. The various issues with PCR tets are all over the mainstream media, why would I assume that I know better than professionals in this field, that’s just insane
That was directed at ce, not you Gavin.
Only an arrogant fool would believe the lies the anti vax post about what the inventor actually said
Dragged up by the ears, when you have to descent insults you’ve lost
An interview was posted here yesterday, I know exactly what he said.
Here’s a short vid of him talking about it.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-ueVTcOSD1k
There is an issue with the cycles. PCR can ramp up a single molecule of a disease to a level where you test positive for that disease.
We could all have thousand of molecules of different diseases in us. That does not mean you are sick with that disease or able to pass it on.
Testing for the vaccinated too surely?
Seen as they can catch and spread covid too.
Good to see Olga again and doing well in life.
She put in a long and hard shift in Broadsheet and deserves every success.
The ICCL, a chocolate teapot. Civil Liberties being trampled on under the guise of public health, and the best they can do is write a letter. That’ll have Merrion Street quaking in their boots. The ICCL even apologised for welcoming the relaxation of restrictions, lest they offend their hard left base. A disgrace of an organisation and undeserving of public funds such is their flaccid reaction to protecting civil liberties.
Still it’s nice to see Olga doing well,
Agreed – writing letters and voicing concern to the media is not good enough.
If you want to hold government to account and actually protect people’s civil liberties, take it to the courts
No pass full stop.
Bunch of unelected do gooders spreading their nonsense again.
Same group are more interested in rights of criminals than ordinary members of society
Same group are more interested in rights of criminals than ordinary members of society
But enough about Dáil Éireann.
Yes I agree.
A guy gets shot and almost died a couple of nights ago, what about his civil liberties. Where was Olga then.
The whole purpose of the last 2 years is to implement the Digital ID pass system.
The vaccines were only ever needed to get us all on this system. Most of us are not at risk to covid so don’t need a vaccine for it. Now they will try get the unvaccinated on this pass system with negative tests and maybe even antibody tests eventually.
Once fully implemented, they will add passports, drivers license, digital currency wallet, and then the Chinese style social credit system.
It is 21st century totalitarianism. Yes, it’s hard to believe but it’s happening right now gradually before our eyes.
Oh nos… why didn’t you warn us before?
I’ve been saying this since March 2020 but you don’t listen or are just a government shill.
I’m sure you haven;t mentioned this before now.
@ Cui Bono?
https://www.tiktok.com/@aisilyn/video/7031779721876704517
https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/weirdalfoil_2322.jpg
@SOQ
Yes, exactly this.
We need more legal challenges to the government on issues like this. If they had to defend every measure in the courts we might see them being forced to be more logical/proportional.
By the time it gets through the courts system, we would either all be dead from Covid 19, or the jabs would have worked.
good luck tom, waiting for the jabs to work.
the emperor will be strutting around in a fine new suit first.
We will be all extinct so.