The Green Party leader has admitted that the Government has been guilty of getting some of its COVID-19 messaging wrong.

It comes after restaurants warned that new rules forcing them to keep a 28-day record of food orders were an “administrative nightmare.”

The Taoiseach this evening said the rules had been misinterpreted and insisted the Government has “no interest in finding out what people are eating.”

On The Hard Shoulder with Kieran Cuddihy this evening, the Transport Minister Eamon Ryan said the Government has been guilty of getting its messaging wrong at times.

“I think you learn from that,” he said. “I think one of the key things about learning from it will be applied in two weeks’ time when we have a more medium to long-term plan for COVID.

“I hope that gets us away from this situation where it changes every two or three weeks.

“It will be a more stable plan about how we manage this virus together and I hope that will help give the public confidence.”

COVID-19 plan

Minister Ryan said the plan, due to be published on Sept 14th, could be in place for a year or longer.

“I think it does have to be something that applies for the six, nine or even 12 plus months,” he said.

“We don’t know exactly when a vaccine or therapeutics might kick in so the worst of this virus will be over.

“I think it might have reviews every four, five or six weeks – so slightly longer review periods with less dramatic changes and less new measures.”

Coalition

He said the leaders of the three Government parties have been working well together in recent weeks.

“It is not easy,” he said. “It has been a rocky two months because coming out of COVID and managing easing our way out of lockdowns was always going to be more difficult than the initial shutting down the country in the first place.

“I think we are doing it in a systematic way and it will work. The three parties are working together, in my mind, well.”

Waste Action Plan

Minister Ryan this morning launched the Government’s new Waste Action Plan, which aims to cut food waste in half over the next ten years while increasing recycling rates and cutting down on plastic pollution.

The plan will see many single-use plastics banned by this time next year with a new deposit scheme for plastic bottles and cans to be in place by 2022.

He said he would be more comfortable talking about new Government initiatives than public health restrictions.

“I mean who would want to be introducing regulations about restricting how we meet and how pubs work?” he asked.

“No-one wants to be doing that. I am interested in communicating the initiatives we are developing here around waste, transport and energy and other things like housing that can have a positive impact on people’s lives.

“No-one wants to be announcing restrictions on pubs or how we meet.”

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