The Labour Party Leader has accused the Government of coming up with a contradictory “5.5 point” roadmap for living with Covid-19.
Tipperary deputy Alan Kelly says he broadly supports the plan but has asked the Taoiseach to confirm by tonight whether Dublin is at Level 3, or at Level 2 alongside the rest of the country.
Taoiseach Mícheál Martin accused deputy Kelly of playing politics by quickly putting out the message a few weeks ago that Covid-19 restrictions would not be introduced in Tipperary.
Deputy Kelly denied such a claim in the Dáil earlier:
“It was your own Minister (Stephen Donnelly) who rang me to tell me that Tipperary wasn’t going into lockdown at the time. So you might correct the record.
“That’s what he said to me at the time, and he asked me to relay that on my local radio station. Ask him yourself, and then you might come in here and apologise and correct the record.”
Deputy Kelly had this to say regarding the roadmap announced earlier today:
“We support the five phases. It’s the right thing to do. 5.5 phases is not the right thing to do because it sets a precedent. What happens to Louth or some other county in a few weeks time where they reach a certain threshold, where they’ll say ‘why can’t we be like Dublin?”
“That’s the real issue you’re dealing with today, so I’m encouraging you to bring that clarity by tonight so that everybody can support you.”
