Excess mortality is believed to be a more accurate way of determining the effect of Covid-19 on a country’s death rate. Dr Tony Holohan said this evening that Ireland experienced no “excess mortality” in May, in contrast to many other European countries. Excess mortality is a method of comparing the amount of deaths in a […]

6 years ago

“The current system needs to change.” The draft programme for coalition government between Fine Gael, Fianna Fáil and the Green Party commits to ending the current system of Direct Provision. Originally introduced as a temporary measure over 20 years ago, Direct Provision has come in for sustained criticism from residents, migrant interest groups and political […]

6 years ago

Our first real glimpse at the “new normal”. The Republic of Ireland accelerated into Phase Two of its Covid-19 lockdown lift this week, as retail outlets returned to business and people began to travel within their own counties. There were movements on what will happen when schools return in September, news on visits to nursing […]

6 years ago

Green Party leader far from the first person to use the slur in the Oireachtas Something occurred in the Dáil today that hasn’t in almost 16 years of debate, four new governments and three new Taoisigh. It is something that a former Minister for Education, a former Minister for Social Welfare and even a former […]

6 years ago

“A rumour went around that it was 150 Nigerian men that were coming to the town.” A Fianna Fáil Councillor asked the Department of Justice to clarify the nationality of asylum seekers who moved into Cahersiveen in March, JOE has learned. Michael Cahill, a member of the Kerry County Council, contacted the Department on foot […]

6 years ago

“This has been made possible because of the considerable sacrifices that you have made.” Ireland is accelerating its lockdown lift. There will be no more Phase 5, and from Monday our worlds become a lot bigger than they have been for the last few months. But, what actually changes as we move into Phase Two? […]

6 years ago

MORTAL KOMBAT… If you’re of a certain vintage, the simple announcement of “Mortal Kombat” throws you back to a different era. While you may not have to pop the cartridge out and expertly blow on it to get it working, the Mortal Kombat 11: Aftermath expansion pack combines all the nostalgia you could want while packing […]

6 years ago

“Now is not the time.” Chief Medical Officer has said the public health advice has not changed in relation to mass gatherings, and that while he understands people’s motivations for protesting, now is not the time for large-scale events. It comes after thousands attended an anti-racism protest in Dublin city centre yesterday, walking from O’Connell […]

6 years ago

The sudden loss of smell and sudden loss of taste are expected to be added to the case definition for Covid-19 in the Republic of Ireland, it was confirmed this evening. There has been increasing anecdotal evidence worldwide that people presenting with the virus have had anosmia (sudden loss of smell) or ageusia (loss of […]

6 years ago

All minutes will be published after tomorrow’s meeting. All minutes of meetings held of the National Public Health Emergency Team (NPHET) will be published tomorrow, Dr Tony Holohan confirmed this evening. There had been a backlog formed relating to minutes, with the most recently published being that of a meeting held on 8 May. This […]

6 years ago

“The dismay will live forever with us.” Tadhg Daly, CEO of Nursing Homes Ireland, has told the Special Oireachtas Committee on Ireland’s Covid-19 response that key state organisations left nursing homes and residents isolated at the early stages of the pandemic. The Committee is sitting today in three two-hour sessions, with the first two focusing on […]

6 years ago

Photography by Ian Boyle. “Now, more than ever, every little helps.”  Back when Leo Varadkar regularly updating us on when we were allowed leave our houses was a novelty, the first address to the Irish people about Covid-19 stopped us all in our tracks. 10 weeks ago, our Taoiseach stood in Washington on live national television and […]

6 years ago

“Its for our ‘one in a million’, because that’s what Sarah is to us” A group of childhood friends, scattered around the world, will unite to walk one million steps in 24 hours this Saturday in memory of a friend they lost to suicide three years ago, and to raise vital funds for Pieta House. […]

6 years ago

“We are all in this together…” Some of the most famous stories are written in what is known as epistolary writing, where the narrative unfolds through a series of letters. Bram Stoker’s Dracula is a well-known example, or the more modern The Perks of Being a Wallflower. Ireland’s failure of Direct Provision residents under international and […]

6 years ago

The committee met for two hours this morning. Dr Tony Holohan has told the Oireachtas Special Committee on Covid-19 Response that Ireland has effectively extinguished the virus from the community in general, but Jim Breslin has also warned Ireland could be in the acute stage of the virus “for years”. Chief Medical Officer Dr Holohan […]

6 years ago

There have been 230 suspected cases in Europe. Parents of young children are being asked to be vigilant for a new disease that has presented in a number of different countries affected by Covid-19. There are seven cases in Ireland under investigation in relation to an illness in young children that may be associated with […]

6 years ago

The issue was raised in the Dáil this evening. Minister for Justice and Equality Charlie Flanagan has said that neither he nor anyone in his department was aware of a confirmed or suspected case of Covid-19 in a hotel being used as a temporary Direct Provision centre, prior to residents being moved to other centres […]

6 years ago

The letter blamed residents for the continued Covid-19 outbreak. The HSE have this evening confirmed to JOE that a letter issued to Direct Provision residents in Cahersiveen last Friday was from the local Department of Public Health. The letter, issued to asylum seekers at the Skellig Star Hotel centre, appeared to blame the residents for […]

6 years ago

There are now 164 cases of Covid-19 in Direct Provision centres. A Direct Provision Centre with a cluster of over 20 Covid-19 cases confirmed has reported two further cases and extended a strict lockdown on residents for two further weeks. In a letter sent to residents of the Skellig Star Hotel in Cahersiveen this morning, […]

6 years ago

Clarity at last, in some shape or form. Reports emerged on Thursday night that the Leaving Cert will be cancelled and replaced by a predicted grade system. It seems to bring to an end weeks of uncertainty around the exams, after its Junior Cycle counterpart was scrapped a few weeks ago. But what happens now? […]

6 years ago

The most up to date figures were presented this evening. It has been confirmed by Minister for Health Simon Harris that there are now 164 confirmed cases of Covid-19 in Direct Provision centres in Ireland. It was reported yesterday that as of last Saturday, May 2nd, there were 9 clusters and 88 cases of the […]

6 years ago

There were no new confirmed clusters of the virus in that time. It was confirmed tonight that as of midnight last Saturday that there were 88 confirmed cases of Covid-19 in Direct Provision centres across the Republic of Ireland, an increase of 26 since the last publication of figures. There are no new confirmed clusters […]

6 years ago

The Green Party won 12 seats in February’s General Election. Green Party TD for Dublin West Roderic O’Gorman has said that any programme for government must address a number of problem areas in Irish society, or the Green Party will walk away from negotiations. It was announced yesterday that the Greens would enter into formal […]

6 years ago

“This is Ireland saying to our own people, your Navy has your back.” Today, the LÉ James Joyce will leave the Dublin docks and return to Cork. Since last Wednesday, it has been another vital cog in Ireland’s battle against the Covid-19 Coronavirus pandemic. A striking presence along the Liffey in the past eight days, […]

6 years ago

“We don’t want to climb on top of the trees so that the government can know that we are really serious and we want to be moved.” A resident at the Direct Provision centre in Kerry struck by an outbreak of Covid-19 claims no one was tested before multiple centres were moved to one location in the south of […]

6 years ago

“They already had the skills, so when this came around, they really wanted to help out. So we decided why not make the masks?” A group of women in Direct Provision in Cork have been hand-making hygiene masks to distribute among residents of Direct Provision Centres, as well as other vulnerable groups in the community. […]

6 years ago

The changes will be phased in from next week. Dr Tony Holohan, the Chief Medical Officer, tonight announced that the testing criteria for suspected cases of Covid-19 will be changed from early next week. At the daily press briefing at the Department of Health, it was announced that 37 more people have died from Covid-19 in […]

6 years ago

“It will take very little for us to lose the good work that has been done” Dr Tony Holohan, the Chief Medical Officer, has tonight called for continued vigilance around the physical distancing measures in place in Ireland. It comes as anecdotal experiences of people seeing increased movement of people in the country was verified […]

6 years ago

Are you a musician with an original song that you want the world to hear? Ireland has long punched above its weight in many arenas, and music is no different. This is the country that boasts a record number of Eurovision winners, U2, Thin Lizzy, Sinead O’Connor, Westlife… not to mention Six, Donna and Joe […]

6 years ago

The latest models were released on Thursday evening. The Chair of the NPHET Irish Epidemiological Modelling Advisory Group last night warned that the current restrictions on people and businesses must continue “until we’re absolutely certain” they are working. The daily briefing at the Department of Health on Thursday evening saw the highest number of daily […]

6 years ago

This is hard. Two of the most quotable men on the planet, David Brent and Donald Trump. We’ve assembled 20 of their most distinctive utterings, but we’re asking you to tell us which man said it: Brent or Trump. Try read this in each other’s voices… It actually doesn’t make it any easier.

6 years ago

“It’s important…we ensure that it is just this very narrow window of time and that these powers are dispensed with as quickly as possible.” As we enter into a Bank Holiday weekend like no other, the Gardaí have been given powers to enforce government guidelines on the restriction of movement and social distancing. These are […]

6 years ago

That’s the real quiz. It’s one of the most quotable shows on the planet, and you either love it or you hate it. If you’re here, it’s pretty likely you’re part of the latter group. Be warned, this one is pretty tough. It’s all Season One, there will of course be a Season Two offering […]

6 years ago

“When in doubt, go to the library.” As part of #HarryPotterFromHome, an initiative by the Wizarding World franchise to encourage reading during the pandemic, the Harry Potter: A History of Magic exhibit at the British Museum in London has been made available online through Google Arts & Culture. The move is likely to prove popular […]

6 years ago

“They ran the A Levels during the War, but they still aren’t running it this year.” A group of over 60 Leaving Cert students are calling for the State Exams to be cancelled and to be replaced by “expected grades” assigned by their classroom teachers. It comes as students enter a second week of studying […]

6 years ago

“It’s very clear that the virus doesn’t discriminate, but the humans are. We need to fix this.” The Refugee Council of Ireland and Movement of Asylum Seekers in Ireland (MASI) have condemned the news that people living in Direct Provision who have lost their jobs due to the ongoing Covid-19 crisis will not be eligible […]

6 years ago

The students were at the heart of this decision. In Government Buildings yesterday, with the assembled media observing social distancing and seated more sparsely than a 9am lecture on a Monday morning, Minister for Education Joe McHugh informed Third and Sixth Year students, and their teachers and parents, that all oral and practical exams for […]

6 years ago

There are 90 confirmed cases of Covid-19 on the island of Ireland. Deputy First Minister of Northern Ireland Michelle O’Neill has called for an all-island approach to the threat of Covid-19 and says all schools, colleges and universities need to close. While these measures, and more, were implemented by Leo Varadkar’s caretaker government on Thursday […]

6 years ago

Eamon’s Choice will decide the future of Green Party. If politics is akin to walking a tightrope, the one that Eamon Ryan and his party may tread could easily become a greased-up skipping rope twirled at either end by Leo Varadkar and Micheál Martin. The decision would perhaps be easier if it weren’t for the […]

6 years ago