Thread by @ProfSuperJunior

So the MFH is getting a hammering over that interview with the amazing @ZaraKing

It’s fair to say it wasn’t his finest hour comms wise BUT some of the comments (many in fact) are just plain nasty & represent people who just don’t like him getting the boot stuck in

So I’m (1)

(2) going to share a few thoughts on both the Minister, the role & what my interpretation is of what he was trying to get across

As line Minister you get judged essentially on two core aspects: what you deliver & how you come across

(3) in the fullness of time history judges you on what you deliver, how effective you were in improving things during your time in the brief

@MichealMartinTD legacy of the smoking ban for which he took a hammering at the time, in the fullness of time, has been recognized as a

(4) key public health intervention that has had a huge impact on smoking related illnesses & importantly occupational exposure for workers in the hospitality industry

That is the substance that stayed with us, although at the time he was not at all popular for it

(5) @DonnellyStephen is a very clever person. I’ve met lots of politicians and he’s one of the smartest. He took a large pay cut to leave the private sector & go into politics because he wanted to make our society better

Lots of people claim this is the reason they are in

(6) politics but in Stephens case his actions in leaving a much better paid role with better working conditions and work life balance only make sense in the context of a public service motivation as quite frankly he gets a ton of abuse & little acknowledgement of his work ethic

(7) which brings me to last nights interview

From the many times I have met Stephen Donnelly, he really cares about people

He’s a person of great substance but he’s not a natural communicator on camera, in normal times he would get a chance to adjust to the brief not get

(8) landed into the middle of a pandemic while he is finding his feet & establishing his team in DOH

So he has to do better at comms

But we also have to give him a chance

Some people who pride themselves on being very balanced were downright cruel last night

(9) I get it

People are tired & frustrated with restrictions & loss

And we were used to Leo & Simon

But it seems as if Leo and Simons failures in government in health & housing have all been washed away by a few months f good comms & listening to NPHET

That’s bizarre

(10) @MichealMartinTD & @DonnellyStephen need to do better on comms

That’s important for public confidence & trust

But we also have to be honest about the fact that shutting the country was much easier than this stage & they are finding their feet

(11) those in government who are briefing against it & leaking & sabotaging it would do well to look at the example of essential workers during the first wave

Even though consutlants have the lowest numbers in EU & have been failed by successive governments inaction on capacity

(12) we put all that aside

And moved mountains to reconfigure care & guide the politicians through this crisis so that Irish people wouldn’t suffer

So politicians leaking & damaging for their own party “gain” need to don the green jersey themselves as we face a winter like no

(13) other

We need strong coherent government this Winter and throughout this crisis

Stephen Donnelly is a Dad of 3. He wouldn’t be sending his kids back to school if he didn’t think the DoE were doing everything they can to make the controlled environment of schools as safe

(14) as possible

He also knows that NOT going to school is impacting the mental well being of children as well as their future educational opportunities & that the impact is worse for children in vulnerable families

What he was trying to say last night was that

(15) life is full of risk: cars are very dangerous environments but we get in every day

And yes so are trampolines. Lots of children get nasty fractures. But during lockdown many parents bought them because their kids needed exercise, they are loving parents balancing risk

(16) and that is what we are all doing every day

A challenge for us is that all of us have different risk thresholds

As a health worker I deal in risk every day

My threshold for discomfort is higher because of my life experience in work, others will have a lower threshold

(17) that makes this even harder

So my take home from this thread?

Don’t romanticise the last govt: they had many faults that led to the feb election

Don’t demonize the new regime because they aren’t as slick at comms

Govt need to improve comms

We need to ask questions but

(18) not be vicious or act like the last crowd were a panacea

We in the health service are in for one hell of a Winter & we need a #TeamHealth approach, as much social cohesion as possible so we can get as many people through this as possible

Ultimately impact will be the

(19) legacy that decides the substance of this government

And in the interim we need to face the challenges together, robust government with skilled opposition without some of the ill judged blatant opportunism we saw from some who do know better in recent days

(17) thinking of all those effected by last nights storm, thankful for @ESBNetworks incredible staff & reminded again about how homelessness & our suboptimal response so fair is a stain on all of us & how we value the vulnerable

@DonnellyStephen @MichealMartinTD @SusanMitchell_ @colette_sexton @Rheum2improve @DrZeroCraic @ronan_glynn @paulreiddublin @CcoHse @ddg_strategy @lieabh @ritakj @Dr_RPM @ohanloncmr @Antcon7062 @IHCA_IE @IMO_IRL @PaddyHillery @DrTobyGilbert