Mattie McGrath slams pandemic response, borders and vaccine chaos
Mattie McGrath spoke on 25 Feb 2021 about the government's handling of the pandemic, arguing that measures were mishandled and ordinary people were being punished. He criticised border policy, vaccine distribution, the closure of a designated step-down hospital, and flaws in emergency legislation.
Border controls and travel
McGrath said border measures were late and inconsistent, noting that people were still coming in through ports and airports and that Gardaí appeared confused. He rejected arguments that only the Northern Ireland border was the issue and warned that porous entry points would undermine protections through the summer.
Vaccine rollout and distribution
He accused the health system of bungling vaccine distribution, describing missed deliveries to GP practices and carers and recounting a centenarian still waiting for vaccination. McGrath recalled previous concerns about unaccounted-for flu vaccines and questioned the department's ability to manage much larger orders and whether sourcing outside the EU had been pursued.
Healthcare services and hospital closures
McGrath criticised the closure of a hospital designated as a step-down facility during the pandemic, arguing the decision was illogical and showed contempt for the public. He raised concerns about delays to cancer services and screening programmes, noting breast check appointments expected in 2021 were likely to slip into 2022.
Legislation and parliamentary process
He described the emergency legislation as badly drafted with "gaping holes," warned it would face legal challenges, and said limited time in the Dáil risked inadequate scrutiny. McGrath welcomed some accepted amendments but doubted they would be properly debated in the constrained timetable.
Mental health and social consequences
McGrath highlighted the human cost of the response, citing cases of severe depression and long waits for mental-health treatment, including private patients waiting many months. He said ordinary people, carers and those relying on public services were suffering anxiety and practical harm from the current approach.
We publish thousands of recordings to make Irish politics transparent and resistant to manipulation. Spotted an error? Report it — together we are building a reliable archive of Irish politics.
Gourmáth Góth, Góangileach. Minister, I want to be able to speak on this meeting this morning. It's something that should have been done back in April. I, on behalf of the Royal Independence, attended the briefings with the Dindtisheach and Dr. Houlan and others. I would sympathise with Dr. Houlan and his recent bereavement. And we asked, every time I asked certainly, why do we not close our borders? And I got the same thing with that talk that all we couldn't were Europeans. When I pointed out to Poland and to Hungary, oh, I just scoffed that. So we're really punishing our people. Our ordinary people are punished. They'll terrorise many of them. And the RTE radio station, I'll terrorise them hourly, not to mind say daily. And as I said the last day, that former Dr. Lee, George Lee, has found his true vocation in trying to scare the life out of the people. And it's not balanced, it's not logical, and it's not fair. And the hand-fisted way that you, Minister, and Taoiseach Martin have taken over from the previous Minister and Taoiseach, Harris, and indeed, Deputy Harris and Borekler. You've dropped the ball spectacularly. And none more so than your appearance on Fairbun on Monday night, which thankfully I didn't see. But I heard enough about it. And it is shocking that the Minister of Health would be so ill-informed, so out of his depth, and so inadequate and poor. And that has been the raison d'etre of your government since you took over. And you closed the hospital in Cádiz, that you had designated, St. Bridget's Hospital in Cádiz, he had designated for a step-down, and you secunded it back in Mare-Trepel. And you closed it down in the middle of the pandemic. Who would do that in their right mind? When you have money thrown at every kind of a problem, but you have treated your own people with disdain contempt. And the rights of the freedom, and their own inalienable rights that they have under the Constitution, I'm meant to have, have been trampled on. The little green book has been shredded. And this is more about here today. So I've really mixed ideas about this, because there's gaping holes in it, and it will take another, I suppose, six weeks, I'd say, at best, before it's implemented. Here we are, and we'll be into the summer season, and people come in all over, porous. You'd blame the border in Northern Ireland, but the ports, and indeed the airports, people have been flooding through, and the Gardaí are confused. Anything you've done, and then we hear people on for Maxi, and on for the Southern Inspectors Association, and the GRA, they know nothing about it. And like Deputy Conant said, Minister Roberts gave no information, he was totally erroneous, and quite stupid, and, you know, people expected to deal with it. So, I don't know, I mean, we have several amendments down there, which we'll be moving later, and I'm glad they were accepted, but will they be reached? Because you'll get it in this bill, with so limited time to debate it. Such drastic measures, but there's gaping flaws in the drafting of this legislation, and I say it'll be challenged in the courts, and challenged everywhere. But, I mean, the industry is just being crippled. Ordinary people, the mental health, mental health. I mean, I had a case recently, not my own constituency, of a man who is very depressed with this situation, and he's going private for mental health. It's going to take him over 20 months to get an apartment. Do you realise that, then? And he's paying for it. And, as I mentioned, the people that are out there suffering in the public system, and the cancer patients, and we've heard this morning, the breast check, people that were due, they were due to be called this month, in 2021, it'll now be more than likely, to accept this month, it'll be 2022. And the misdiagnosis, and the fear in the people, and the anxiety in the people, yet while you have made another thundering disgrace of the vaccines. I put it to you for a thud time in a story, I put it to you last November, I put it to you three weeks ago again, that someone said earlier, Deputy O'Dowd said earlier, he was lecturing us here, how good the government were performing, and how good we were. I mean, we have the size of one county rolled out. I put it to you here last November, that there was 2 million flu vaccines, distributors, or bought, or put out there, and you can only account in your department for 1.4 million. And I've asked you to prove me wrong on that. And 2 million, how are we going to be fit to roll out your 10 million now that you've ordered? I also want to ask you, did you go outside the EU, because the EU would have been the goodbyes in Europe, always, but we're getting only the crumbs. Did you try and source vaccines elsewhere? I also ask you, I have doctors packed us in care, who didn't get their vaccines last Wednesday, yesterday week. They were going to get 116, 120, and they never arrived. So imagine those people that were ready to come and have been phoned. Some of them elderly. I had a 100-year-old lady, a band in Tipadon, a wonderful woman, in her 101st year, and her son rang me the other day. When is she going to get the vaccine? She's one of those, that doctor. I have the same situation in Carrick and Shore, South Kilkenny practice, where they didn't arrive either. And that can happen. Anyone can make a mistake, but they have no idea when they're going to get him, no idea where they went, and no idea when they're going to be falling into place again. The people didn't, the carers are out there. The people in one of them in a situation, I've spoken about one before to you, a young lady, Valerie, in Carrick and Shore, in Tipperary, who's had a serious accident and has her own care team in, and she applies them privately, and she wants the vaccine. No way can she get it, because she's afraid her carers get it, or she'll get it, with lethal consequences. But the bungling and the misappropriation of vaccines, which was endemic in the HSE ever before we had this so-called pandemic. So now, Minister, we have been punished, and the Irish people have been punished punitively, for the failures, abject failures, of several ministers, and the HSE over the years, Minister for Health. The Taoiseach set it up, I don't know how many years ago, so he's hardly going to disband it, even though, former Taoiseach, Heron and Count, told me they were disbanding it, because it was dysfunctional. And it has gotten more dysfunctional, and the lack of accountability, and the millions and millions that have been fired at problems now. Money's no problem, whatever's been done, I know from contractors, get in, do it, spend the money. No accountability whatsoever. The fact that you had 12 months now, to put in place extra beds, extra facilities, and you never did one thing. Not an extra bed, maybe five or six, and no capacity, even though you have locked out mental health institutions in Tlan Man, closed it up, and spent 1.4 million on St. Michael's, but you won't allow a mental health patient in it, even post-pandemic. Minister, you go down in history, obviously, as... Look, I won't even say it, because I want to be... It's a seasonal lint, and I'll be charitable, but you're not at the races here. Someone said the horse is boated. The horse, I say, is in Cheltenham, I say. Or if he's not farther away. And again, remember, this house went to Cheltenham last year, and we should ensure that no members would go this year to Cheltenham, or would Cheltenham be held? But, I mean, the reckless behaviour, and how people are obeying their restrictions, and doing everything right, and seeing the flouting of the laws, and seeing what's going on in a mosque here recently. We couldn't get ashes last Wednesday in a church in Dublin, but the mosques are freely open. We saw what happened about the funeral is the right keel. Hundreds of people there. And we're told, then, these are people, minorities, that we must respect. The church is floating the law, and telling the people that, crappies lie down, is what it is. Now, again, to the Irish people, and to help the... And let people do what they like, and not really, it's got a record.
Thank you for downloading 🙏
If you publish this material on social media, we would be very grateful if you tagged VideoParliament. It helps us reach more people and keep building a transparent archive of Irish politics.
