“Covid hysteria is crushing medical services for many seriously sick people"

John Kierans, the PRO of the Louth / Coastal Meath Fianna Fáil Comhairle Dáil Cheantair (CDC), says that Covid 19 is no different to a bad flu season and that the party should seek the advice of ‘anti-lockdown’ epidemiologists and virologists.

In a motion to the next meeting of the CDC, Kierans says that data from the Central Statistics Office on excess mortality does not support the contention that Ireland suffered an abnormal pandemic last year, 2020.

“Covid 19 is not different to a bad flu season.  It ended in May 2020 in the same way that the previous two bad flu seasons ended” he says.

The first motion before the CDC reads as follows: “That the Fianna Fáil Louth Coastal Meath CDC acknowledges that data from the Central Statistics Office of Ireland pertaining to excess mortality does not support the contention that Ireland suffered from an abnormal pandemic in the year 2020.  Furthermore, we acknowledge that excess mortality data from ‘anti-lockdown Sweden’ indicates that Sweden did not have an abnormal pandemic in 2020.  The pandemics endured by both countries was similar to the recent bad flu seasons”.

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“The motion is just an observation of fact” Kierans, says.  The most recent analysis from the Central Statistics Office of Ireland compares six 12-month periods from 2014 to 2020 (Oct to Sept). 

“The large number of deaths that occurred in April 2020 equalled the number of deaths in the January 2017 and the January 2018 flu seasons.

“The CSO does not offer comparative statistics for Ireland and Sweden.  However, the UK office for National Statistics does offer comparative mortality statistics for some larger European countries. 

“The Chart below compares ‘anti-lockdown’ Sweden with the UK, France, and Germany. Clearly lockdown countries performed no better than Sweden.

“The proposed motion does not offer an opinion on the severity of Covid 19 or the effectiveness of lockdowns in saving lives.  It asks party members to acknowledge pertinent facts. 

“Under Micheál Martin’s leadership Fianna Fáil remains undaunted in its commitment to open discussions and policy formation from its membership. 

“Covid hysteria is crushing medical services for many seriously sick people, destroying family businesses, and tearing at the very fabric of our society" Kierans says. 

"We in Fianna Fáil can lead our country out of this morass.  Cheerleading the latest lockdown measures and fretting over statistics, (that are literally meaningless), is not good enough. Fianna Fáil and Ireland is smarter than that.”

The second motion before the CDC is as follows.

“That the Fianna Fáil Louth Coastal Meath CDC would encourage a scientific approach to Covid 19 that includes input from epidemiologists and virologists that support and oppose lockdowns measures.”