Author Archives: Bodger

Earlier this evening.

Further to Taoiseach Leo Varadkar quoting The Terminator when he announced further movement restrictions on March 27…

He ended his address to the nation with a quote from Lord of the Rings:

“In the end, it’s only a passing thing, this shadow. Even darkness must pass. A new day will come and when the sun shines, it’ll shine out all the clearer.”

Ah here.

Previously: “There’s No Fate But What We Make For Ourselves”

Rollingnews

Top from left: Taoiseach Leo Varadkar , Minister for Health Simon Harris and Dr Tony Holohan, chief medical officer, Department of Healtht his afternoon

This afternoon.

Government Buildings, Dublin 2.

Taoiseach Leo Varadkar announced the easing of lockdown restrictions.

Up to 25 people can attend funerals and Public libraries can open on Monday.

From Monday groups of up to six can meet indoors or outdoors once they keep 2 metres apart.

Groups of up to 15 people can meet for outdoor sporting activities.

From Monday over 70s and the vulnerable can welcome people to their homes.

Also from Monday people can travel anywhere in their own county or 20km from their homes, whichever is the greater (see here)

Phase 3, beginning on 29 June, will see all domestic travel restrictions lifted.

Cabinet agreed to implement all elements of Phase 2 and bring forward actions in remaining phases.

There will now only be 4 phases. Phase 3 on 29 June and Phase 4 from 20 July.

Taoiseach statement on easing of Covid-19 restrictions (RTÉ)

Earlier: Within Your County

Photocall Ireland

Update:

Waiter! There’s a fly in my pint.

Meanwhile…

Minister for finance Paschal Donohoe (top right) and  Minister for Employment Affairs & Social Protection, Regina Doherty, brief the media at Government Buildings this afternoon.

The €350 Pandemic Unemployment Payment will become two-tiered from June 29, with people who were earning less than €200 per week before the outbreak of Covid-19 set to drop to €203 per week.

Social Protection Minister Regina Doherty today announced that the payment will continue until Phase 5 of the road map for reopening the economy on August 10, but it will be split from the beginning of Phase 3 in just over three weeks.

Pandemic unemployment payment to be cut for part-time workers from June 29 (irish Examiner)

Rollingnews


This changes everything.

A mighty wind.

FIGHT!

Twitter ordered to disclose information over parody account (RTÉ)

Meanwhile…

Anyone?

This afternoon.

We must have been really good.

Update:

Suck it up. Louth.

Meanwhile…

Gulp.

Coronavirus: People to be allowed to travel anywhere in their county from Monday as Ireland moves to exit lockdown (The Irish Times)

Leon Farrell/Rollingnews

Meanwhile…


Unhappy and happy emojis; Stephen Collins, Irish Times’ former political editor and columnist

This morning.

Put a happy face on….

If Sinn Féin has the energy and the resources to dominate social media and disseminate its message there is nothing wrong with that.

Where it begins to get sinister is the way in which the party’s keyboard warriors seek to intimidate people propounding different views.

For instance the [Dublin City University] study found a marked difference between the emoji icons used to react to posts by the parties.

“Haha”, or “Angry” constituted 94 per cent of emoji reactions for posts by Fine Gael, and 90 per cent for Fianna Fáil, while they only accounted for 7 per cent of these reactions to posts by Sinn Féin.

….The study found that 91 per cent of the emoji reactions to Sinn Féin posts were “Love”.

What it suggests is that the Sinn Féin keyboard army was not just actively pushing its own message but attacking the messages being put out by its political opponents.

…. Whether it is down to poor organisation or fear of intimidation by the “Shinnerbots”, the two parties now negotiating a programme for government appear oblivious to the daily assault they suffer on social media, which is merely a harbinger of what awaits them when the next election comes around.

:(

Also: 😂

Stephen Collins: Big two must take fight to SF on social media (Irish Times)

‘sup?

Ruth Medjber

Meanwhile…

 

Yesterday.

The Curragh, County Kildare.

Rollingnews

The Beacon Hospital, Dublin (top) owned by Denis O’Brien

Yesterday evening.

Tom Lyons, in The Currency, reported:

It was responsible for signing a deal that saw Ireland’s privately owned hospitals temporarily taken over by the state as Ireland desperately tried to increase its healthcare capacity as Covid-19 reached its shores in March.

Now, however, the Beacon Hospital, owned by millionaire businessman Denis O’Brien, has decided to leave the Private Hospital Association (PHA) with immediate effect and manage its own future negotiations.

The move has caused consternation among fellow hospital owners involved in the group.

The Beacon has made it clear to other members that it will no longer rely on the PHA when negotiating any future contracts with the state in relation to Covid-19 or any other matter.

Stress fracture: Beacon Hospital exits private hospital alliance in wake of state takeover deal (Tom Lyons, The Currency) [behind paywall]

Tuesday: The Cost Of Going Private