Michael McNamara and Aine Lawlor

This morning.

On RTÉ’s Morning Ireland.

Independent Clare TD Michael McNamara spoke on RTÉ Radio One’s Morning Ireland about prejudice against the unvaxxed telling the host Aine Lawlor:

“…now we’re vilifying the unvaccinated. Before it was students and, before that, it was people who travelled…”

Later…

Aine Lawlor: “You spoke about the unvaccinated being vilified. I don’t know whether you heard Professor O’Reilly or Dr Gary Stack [on the show] talking to us earlier about what they’re facing on the medical line, frontline and, you know, the impact Prof O’Reilly was talking about, for instance, if somebody and the people in ICU that’s being driven by the unvaccinated at the moment. If they’re taking up a bed that maybe somebody needs a lung cancer operation can’t get into ICU, how fair are they being on the rest of the community?”

Michael McNamara: “Yeah, but you know, people who smoke take up beds, people who drink take up beds, people who in all sorts of behaviour that might not seem very sensible take up beds. If you go to the A&E unit in Limerick on your average Friday night and you’ll see a fair share of people who’ve drunk too much there. I mean they’re taking up spaces too.

“I mean throughout history, we’ve seen groups of people being blamed unreasonably, in hindsight, for various pandemics and various endemics and sometimes, with the benefit of hindsight, that looks ridiculous. We started off, there was a big campaign…”

Lawlor: “Well I don’t know who’s blaming? I mean I most certainly heard no vilification or blaming at the NPHET briefing yesterday.”

McNamara: “No, but there’s been a fair share of, there’s been an outrageous amount of it on social media, and there’s been a fair share of it on broadcast media, including RTÉ television, it has to be said.”

Lawlor: “Well I haven’t heard or seen any vilification.”

McNamara: “[inaudible] to be honest and I don’t think it’s healthy to divide society along that basis. You know…”

Lawlor: “No, and indeed we heard Prof O’Reilly…”

McNamara: “Can we continue…”

Lawlor: “No, just to make the point. Prof O’Reilly in fact spoke about the way that he engages with those who aren’t vaccinated. All the doctors that we’ve been talking to have been talking about engagement. They have also been saying, and this is the message, that for the sake of protecting the community, they are particularly appealing to the 1 in 5 18-30-year-olds who aren’t vaccinated at the moment, to go and get the vaccination for the sake of community, for the sake of the people who won’t be able to get that bed in ICU at the end of November.”

McNamara: “I don’t, I mean, I’m not going to, I’ve never countered medical advice, I’m not going to go against that but what I’m talking about is not doctors, but are commentators who feel they’ve suddenly found a group that they can, you know… We have increasing political correctness in our discourse in our media, it’s perhaps a good thing…”

Lawlor: “What do you say to the unvaccinated?”

McNamara: “I say to the vaccinated, do your research, talk to your doctors.”

Lawlor: “And get the vaccine?”

McNamara: “Talk to your doctors. I mean I’m not in a position to intervene in people’s lives. I don’t know the reasons they’re not taking the vaccine, there are people who can’t take the vaccine. I say talk to your doctor. Everybody, almost everybody, in Ireland has a GP, talk to your GP, listen to what they have to say. I’m not a GP, I’m not a doctor, I’m not an immunologist.”

Lawlor: “OK, well thank you for coming in to talk to us on Morning Ireland.”

Earlier: Blame From Spain Falls Mainly On The Plain

Yesterday: Insight To Hatred