Tag Archives: Eamon Ryan

This morning.

Dublin Castle, Dublin 2.

Green Party Leader and Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications and Minister for Transport Eamon Ryan arrives for a cabinet meeting on lifting all covid restrictions.

Earlier: “A Sense Of Nervousness”

Sam Boal/RollingNews

This morning.

Dublin Castle. Dublin 2.

Minister for Transport Eamon Ryan speaking to media before attending a meeting of the Cabinet.

Meanwhile…

Minister for Education Norma Foley will bring proposals to the Cabinet on this year’s Leaving Certificate, which recommend against providing a hybrid exam option.

It is being proposed that Leaving Cert students will sit a written exam, which includes additional elements of choice.

Green Party leader Eamon Ryan described the proposals for a written Leaving Certificate as “fairer option” for students.

Speaking on his way into the Cabinet meeting, he said that accredited grades would not be possible this year.

Asked about Sinn Féin’s description of the proposal as “desperate“, Mr Ryan said that the alternative would have necessitated school profiling, an approach, he said, which would have been a desperate solution.

Cabinet to hear proposals against Leaving Cert hybrid exam (RTE)

Update:

Social Democrats Education Spokesperson Gary Gannon said:

“This year’s Leaving Cert students have suffered two years of upheaval and chaos because of covid. There have been lengthy school closures and persistent absences, of both students and teachers, due to illness caused by covid and the requirement to self-isolate. We must also acknowledge the incredible stress, and anxiety, that students have been under as a consequence of covid.

“This year is not a normal year, so we cannot have a ‘normal’ Leaving Cert. The lived experience of Leaving Cert students, throughout these unprecedented two years, must be acknowledged by Minister for Education Norma Foley. It cannot be business as usual – simply because that makes life easier for the Minister and her Department.”

Sasko Lazarov/RollingNews

This morning.

The Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications and Transport Eamon Ryan (top) has said he did not believe the Government will decide to immediately remove some restrictions today and it is more likely that people will be given advance notice about any changes on Friday.

However…

Ah now.

Lifting of restrictions could begin next week – Ryan (RTE)

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Minister for the Environment Eamon Ryan

This morning.

Via Irish Times:

The fine for parking a vehicle on a footpath, cycle lane or bus lane is to double to €80 from next month.The Department of Transport said the increased fixed charge penalty rate would come into force on February 1st. The fines apply on all public roads and will be enforced by gardaí and local authority traffic wardens, it said.

Minister for Transport Eamon Ryan said the increased penalty aimed to encourage road users to be more considerate and to promote active travel.

“These increases should help improve the safety of all vulnerable road and footpath users by creating a more effective deterrent to these specific forms of illegal parking,” he said.

Conn Donovan, chair of the Cork Cycling Campaign, said the increased fine was a “baby step” in the right direction and that a campaign to catch people who parked on footpaths, cycle lanes and bus lanes was required.

Fine for parking on cycle lanes and footpaths to double (Irish Times)

RollingNews

This morning.

Dublin Castle, Dublin 2.

Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport Eamon Ryan TD speaking to media before entering Dublin Castle for this morning’s meeting of the Cabinet.

Earlier: Stabilise You Socialising

Sasko Lazarov/RollingNews


This morning.

Dublin Castle, Dublin 2.

Green Party Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications and Minister for Transport Eamon Ryan, arriving for a cabinet meeting, discusses the ‘significant change’ in people’s behaviour since further covid restrictions were announced last week.

Sasko Lazarov/RollingNews

Meanwhile…

Hmm.

Minister for the Environment Eamon Ryan

This afternoon.

Dail Eireann.

Further to the appointment by Eamon Ryan of Professor Morgan Bazilian a former special advisor to Minister Ryan, and Dr Cara Augustenborg, a former Green Party election candidate, to the Climate Change Advisory Council with no open competition for the posts…

…via RTÉ News

The Minister for Foreign Affairs has insisted in the Dáil that Minister for the Environment Eamon Ryan’s appointment of two people he knew to the Climate Change Advisory Council was not an act of “cronyism”.

I don’t accept that this was an act of cronyism at all,” Simon Coveney said, defending his Cabinet colleague.

Speaking during Questions on Promised Legislation, Sinn Féin’s Matt Carthy had suggested that Minister Coveney tell Minister Ryan that “these types of acts of croneyism simply aren’t worth it”.

Sinn Féin’s Pearse Doherty also criticised Mr Ryan for appointing his “two friends” to the council.

Mr Doherty noted there had been a recommendation that an open appointments process be held for the posts.

Minister Coveney should appreciate this, he added, given “the stroke that you tried to pull earlier on in the summer in appointing a former cabinet colleague [Katherine Zappone’s derailed UN appointment] to a makey-up job”.

Coveney: Appointments to climate council not ‘cronyism’ (RTÉ)

RollingNews

Eamon Ryan

This morning

Further to Eamon’s Ryan’s ‘positive’ covid test where the Minister for the Environment said his private secretary was later contacted by the HSE to say the result had actually been “inconclusive”…

…via Fergal Bowers:

The Health Service Executive has said that around 25 to 30 repeat PCR tests are conducted each month, after issues arise with the first test.

It said that repeating a PCR test and interpretation of the result can take into account the person’s clinical history, their clinical condition and the reason for the first test.

The HSE said it may also take account of whether or not they were a close contact, if they had a previous positive test result and “various parameters within the test process itself.”

The HSE said that as a patient’s test result can be reviewed by a GP and public health at a local level, the HSE Test and Trace programme will not necessarily be made aware of all individual patient cases where a repeat test is ordered.

Hmm.

Anyone?

Up to 30 PCR tests repeated each month – HSE (RTÉ)

Yesterday: My Second Test

Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications and Minister for Transport Eamon Ryan

This morning.

Further to Eamon Ryan’s ‘false positive’…

Via The Irish Times:

Mr Ryan said he got his first PCR Covid test from the National Ambulance Service (NAS) – which has been carrying out the tests for ministers who are to travel abroad – on Friday morning and it came back with a positive result on Saturday.

He said he went home and worked on contact tracing of people he had seen in recent days including Taoiseach Micheál Martin, Tánaiste Leo Varadkar and secretary general to the government Martin Fraser.

He said his private secretary was later contacted by the HSE to say the results of the test had actually been “inconclusive”.

Mr Ryan said it is his understanding it is “standard” to have a second test in such circumstances, particularly where the person did not have symptoms and were not a close contact. He got the test that evening and it came back on Sunday as “completely negative”.

Mr Ryan said: “I just followed medical advice right the way through all of this”. He said the advice he got after the second test was to “go about your business as normal” so he announced that the trip was back on.

Asked if he had sought the second test he said: “I didn’t have any direct involvement” and his understanding is the suggestion came from the NAS which had contacted his private secretary “rather than from any approach by myself.”

Seems legit.

Ryan says he did not seek second Covid test that allowed him to travel to Cop26 (Irish Times)

Yesterday: Unrepeatable

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