Author Archives: Bodger

This morning.

AstraZeneca has pulled out from a meeting with the European Union scheduled for today to discuss Covid-19 vaccine supplies, an EU official said.

The Commission is demanding more information about the company’s projected 60 percent cut to the EU’s deliveries in the first quarter of 2021.

Via RTÉ:

The official added that the EU keeps asking the company to provide further explanations about its announcement to cut vaccine deliveries to the EU in the first quarter

The European Union has also asked the pharma giant to publish the contract it signed with the bloc on Covid-19 vaccine supplies after the company’s chief executive revealed confidential clauses.

Hmm.

Meanwhile…

Yesterday.

*cough*

EU says AstraZeneca pulled out of meeting over vaccine contract (RTÉ)

Getty

Xi Jinping, then Vice-President of the People’s Republic of China, now its leader, sampling an Irish Coffee during his three day visit to Ireland in 2012

This morning.

Via Breakingnews:

1,088 Chinese citizens have paid up to €1 million to live in Ireland in a Government cash-for-residency scheme.

The money has gone into housing, nursing home and other projects.

The Irish Times reports that Department of Justice figures reveal that non-EU citizens have given €826.5 million to businesses and charities here in return for the right to live in the Republic since 2012.

Chinese citizens accounted for 1,088 of 1,166 investors since the start of the Immigrant Investor Programme (IIP).

It must be our climate.

They have a yen for it.

Over 1,000 Chinese citizens pay up to €1m for Irish residency (Breakingnews)

RollingNews

This morning.

Flowers and a Garda car near the scene of a fatal stabbing incident that occurred last night during a row on East Wall Road, Dublin at approximately 9.20pm. One teenage male was pronounced dead in the Mater Hospital and another suffered serious injuries after the incident.

16-year-old boy dies in Dublin stabbing (RTÉ)

Leah Farrell/RollingNews

Last night.

Cruel sun holiday-shaming on RTÉ 1’s Prime Time.

Meanwhile…

Ooh. He’s so ‘ard.

Previously: Come Out You’re Back And Tanned

Clockwise from top left: Conor Dempsey, Minister for Health Stephen Donnelly and Dr Anthony O’Connor

This morning.

Further to the departure yesterday from Twitter of covid response critic Dr Anthony O’Connor after he received a DM from someone ‘close to’ Minister for Health Stephen Donnelly …

…Via Independent.ie:

In a Twitter direct message, seen by Independent.ie, public relations consultant Conor Dempsey wrote:

“I hope it does not offend you, but do you ever wonder if some of the scrapes you get into online undermine your reputation? I mean that in the sense that people may see you as being so stressed, which you are very entitled to be, that they might be concerned if they are then referred to you for treatment?

“I think you are so brave in your advocacy and understandably fraught with all that is going on, but maybe being so active online works against optimizing your clinical role? We need advocates like you to speak, but you are almost too transparent and informative one would wonder if I was referred to a doctor who appeared so distressed.

“I am guessing also that you find your advocacy cathartic and I also believe in the need to agitate for change. But maybe less can be more?”

Gulp.

Meanwhile…

Mr Donnelly has previously confirmed that Mr Dempsey, whose LinkedIn profile lists him as principal at Dempsey Corporate, worked for him in a voluntary capacity during his first general election campaign.

Doctor quits Twitter after PR consultant claiming to be ‘close confidante’ of Health Minister said he was undermining his clinical role (Independent.ie)

Yesterday: ‘OK Lads, You Win’

Doing the rounds in Italy.

A video of Covid response committee chairman, Michael McNamara (top) last September  questioning Dr John Cuddihy, Director, Health Protection Surveillance Centre, HSE, on how rona deaths are counted.

Transcript:

Michael McNamara: “Dr Cuddihy, if someone shows no symptoms of Covid and they have a heart attack and are brought to hospital and they are tested and it is found they have Covid and they die soon thereafter – but this is someone who has demonstrated no symptoms whatsoever – are they recorded as a Covid death or not? If they have tested positive for Covid but ultimately came to hospital because they had a heart attack or a stroke or fallen off the roof of a building or something like that?”

Dr John Cuddihy: “We adhere to the World Health Organisation case definition in terms of recording and reporting deaths so in the situation you describe, where someone has a positive Covid test and it is a death in a confirmed Covid case but such a case would be subject to a coroner’s report aswell, and as part of the ongoing validation of data in our surveillance system, we wouldn’t…”

McNamara: “Obviously a coroner’s report takes a very long time to work its way through the system. So, for now, they are recorded as a Covid death? And maybe they are taken off that list at a later date. is that what you are saying?

Dr Cuddihy: “That’s it exactly.”

Previously: Just To Clarify

This afternoon.

Northern Ireland First Minister Arlene Foster (above) launched the publication of a Stormont-commissioned report into mother-and-baby homes and Magdalene Laundries in Northern Ireland.

The research carried out by Queen’s University and Ulster University examined whether a public inquiry should be held into the homes.

Ms Foster said:

“First and foremost, we want to offer our personal thanks to those women and their now adult children who came forward to contribute to the research. Your voices were silenced for so many years. That was a significant wrong.”

“This report is an important first step towards a full understanding of what happened to thousands of women and their children in our recent past.”

“It helps is to reflect upon and recognise how poorly they were treated, often in ways that lacked even a basic level of compassion and kindness.”

“…they have been told of the Executive’s decision today to a victim-centred independent investigation into these historical institutions.”

“This will be co-designed with victims and survivors and will give them the opportunity to influence the aim of the investigation, how it should be conducted, how it should be conducted, who should participate in, who should chair it and how long it should take.”

“It is with huge regret that we acknowledge the pain of those experiences and the hurt caused to women and girls who did nothing more than be pregnant outside of marriage, some of them criminally against their will.”

“…I also have hope that this will be the beginning of a healing journey for the thousands of people who were harmed by their experience in the institutions, both at the time and through their life time.”

The report’s key findings:

It describes as a “conservative estimate” that over 10,500 women and girls entered the institutions between 1922 and 1990

The majority of them were from NI (86%), with the remainder from the Republic of Ireland and Great BritainAbout a third of those admitted were under the age of 19, with the youngest child to be admitted aged 12

A number were the victims of sexual crime, including rape and incest

Living conditions and care for residents were recorded in little detail but personal testimonies revealed “strenuous physical labour” being expected of them late into their pregnancies

It is “indisputable” that there was “considerable movement” of babies from some of the homes in NI to the Republic of Ireland.

NI mother-and-baby homes: Investigation promised into ‘significant wrongs’ (BBC)

Meanwhile…

This evening.

Thanks Breeda and Eunan

This afternoon.

Fónefix door to door phone and tech repair service returns for Dublin City customers.

Finally.

Ian Collins writes:

From Santry to Stillorgan, from Blanchardstown to Blackrock, Irish brand, Fónfix has announced the return of its same day, door to door collection, repair and return service for phones and iPad tablets with the addition of smartwatches and tablets, available today at link below…

Fónfix