Author Archives: Bodger

This morning.

Baggott Street, Dublin 2.

Stephen Donnelly, Minister for Health, and Paul Reid, Chief Executive Officer, HSE launch the Department of Health and HSE COVID Tracker App outside the Department of Health HQ.

It’s for your own safety.

Nothing untoward.

Move along now.

Previously: Tracker App Report Card

Leah Farrell/Rollingnews

Meanwhile…

Um.

Where’s Mehmet Ali Ağca when you need him.

From top: Adrian Bartley (left), his father Ultan Sheehan; Kilbrew Nursing Home, Ashford, County Meath; Minister for Health Stephen Donnelly

This morning.

On RTÉ’s Morning Ireland, Audrey Carville asked the Minister for Health Stephen Donnelly about the death of Ultan Meehan who died, aged 79, in hospital just over two weeks after being admitted from the Kilbrew Nursing Home in Ashbourne, County Meath.

Mr Meehan had contracted Covid-19 before he died in June. He also had cancer and dementia.

Ultan’s son Adrian Bartley, who was a resident of the same nursing home and who had Down syndrome and dementia, died ten weeks earlier in April. He had also contracted Covid-19.

Yesterday, Simon Carswell, in The Irish Times, wrote about Mr Meehan and Mr Bartley following an interview with Mary Bartley Meehan amid calls for an inquiry into her husband and son’s deaths.

During his Morning Ireland interview earlier, Mr Donnelly was asked about the case of the two men.

Audrey Carville: “His wife and her advocate describe the horrific and distressing condition that she found her husband in when she went to visit him. It was brought to your department’s attention when Simon Harris was in the ministerial position. The department passed it to the HSE who passed it to HIQA. Will Mary Bartley Meehan be told why this happened to her husband?”

Stephen Donnelly: “Audrey, I don’t want to get into the details of an individual case on air if you don’t mind. Obviously it’s a very distressing case. It’s something we will be looking at very closely but I would just prefer it if we don’t get into an individual case like this on air, if you don’t mind.”

Carville: “But will she get answers, I suppose, ultimately, is that broader question. Will she be told the answers?”

Donnelly: “Well, it will be looked at. Absolutely. Of course it will. And, as you said, the previous minister has already looked into it and I will be on it as well. But, other than that, because it is an individual case, I would prefer to…I just don’t think it’s appropriate…”

Carville: “I understand…but the bigger question then that needs to be answered is who has responsibility for clinical governance in private nursing homes?”

Donnelly: “Well HIQA is, well, ultimately the responsibility for running nursing homes is for the nursing homes. HIQA is the regulator. It is incumbent on HIQA to inspect and to enforce but the responsibility for running nursing homes, obviously falls to the owners of the nursing homes.”

Carville: “Thank you very much indeed….”

Previously: left To Die: Nursing Home Timeline

Covid-19: Tragedy of ‘terrible dimensions’ as woman loses husband and son (Simon Carswell, irish Times)

Rollingnews

 

Barry Cowen at the wheel in 2016

This morning.

Following a televised apology at the weekend when it it was revealed that Agriculture Minister Barry Cowen was banned from driving after being caught over the limit in September 2016….

Via Independent.ie:.

It has emerged that Mr Cowen, then a Fianna Fáil TD, also appeared before Dublin District Court in June 2016 on a speeding charge. He was fined €200 for breaking the special 60kmh limit at Palmerstown in Dublin in July 2015.

The minister will make a statement in the Dáil on the drink-drive matter this evening as the Government seeks to end to the controversy.

He’s in so much trouble.

Barry Cowen fined for speeding as learner before drink driving ban (Independent.ie)

Yesterday: Mea Gulpa

Saturday: What The L Were You Thinking?

Rollingnews

Yesterday.

Dun Laoghaire, County Dublin.

Finally.

Thanks Bebe

Meanwhile…

Um.

This afternoon.

Masked Taoiseach Micheál Martin arrives for a cabinet meeting in Dublin Castle.

He has warned that the planned full reopening of pubs on July 20 could be delayed because of SHOCKING scenes like the one in pic 2 in Dublin on Saturday.

Via RTÉ

Micheál Martin said the Government is worried about scenes in Dublin over the weekend where social distancing and, in some cases, opening hours were not being complied with.

He said:

“We have to put public health first. That is the overarching issue. The only way we can get the economy back is if we keep Covid-19 down. Any change to this would be a disaster for the country.

“There is an obligation on everyone to behave.”

You behave.

Rollingnews

Earlier: Drew’s Company.

Saturday: Worth The Wait

Rollingnews

This afternoon.

Dublin Castle, Dublin 2

The Taoiseach and Fianna Fáil ministers arrive for a cabinet meeting at Dublin Castle. From top: Chief Whip and Minister of State for the Gaeltacht and Sport Dara Calleary (left) and Minister for Health Stephen Donnelly; Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform Michael McGrath and Minister for Agriculture and the Marine Barry Cowen.

Gumming for a pint.

Earlier: Mea Gulpa

Rollingnews

This afternoon.

Liveline with Joe Duffy.

Anyone?

Rollingnews

You can check in.

But your parcel may never arrive.

Eric Chubb writes:

Wondering if any Broadsheet readers have been using Parcel Motel lately and had problems with it?

I ordered a parcel from Amazon which arrived into their Belfast depot on the 15th of June and went no further, until they eventually owned up to having lost it after me ringing them every day or every second day for a week and a half.

They offered me €100 compensation which is less than half the value of the item in question – mea culpa for not taking out the additional liability cover.

However, they also said they think the parcel arrived already opened, but couldn’t prove it as they couldn’t find it.. Surely if it arrived opened, they might have the courtesy to inform the customer so they could get on to the merchant ASAP. In this case, evidently not. Their customer service is non-existent.

They don’t seem to reply to emails, very occasionally they reply to tweets, and if you ring them you could be on hold for an hour. See here: here and here.

I accept that with COVID19, courier firms are flat out every day, but then they are making plenty of money out of it too. If you scan Twitter, or Boards it’s just customer after customer with the same problem.

Packages go missing, PM don’t respond on any customer service channels. I realise that customer comments tend to skew negatively in general, but the sheer volume and consistency of the complaints paints Parcel Motel in a very poor light indeed.

The courier industry in Ireland is completely unregulated from what I can see. ComReg have no jurisdiction over NightLine who own Parcel Motel, so it seems that the next step is the Small Claims Court..

Anyone.

Parcel Motel

This morning.

Slane, County Meath.

New Minister for Justice, Helen McEntee has her first meeting with Garda Commissioner Drew Harris at  the down-at-heel Slane Garda station.

Someone‘s playing the poor mouth.

FIGHT!

Meanwhile…

The new minister said people should consider not entering a premises if it is too crowded and leave if they have been somewhere for an extended period of time.

“It means exercising judgement and self-control for your own sake, as well as the collective good,” she told the Irish Independent.

Ms McEntee’s comments follows images of crowds of people gathering outside pubs.

Justice Minister urges public to use ‘self control’ to stop spread of Covid after concerns raised over pub crowds (Irish Times)

Saturday: Worth The Wait

Rollingnews