Maybe we’re all going a little lock down crazy but it seems like the people in positions of responsibility don’t know the difference between right and wrong. The Beacon CEO providing vaccines to the staff of St Gerard’s Catholic School in Bray, where his children attend, not only stunk of nepotism but also of total disregard for the thousands of people who could have more easily been offered the doses. It leaves you begging the question if anyone in power is motivated by the common good anymore, or are the all corrupt to the bone? 

One of the worst things about this incident is that the Minister for Health, Stephen Donnelly, appeared on the six one news and declared there would be no consequences here, as blocking the HSE from delivering the vaccine to the Beacon would be like cutting off our nose to spite our face. Again doing the right thing hurts sometimes, it’s tough love, and for a minister to appear on the national broadcaster and state that a little corruption is needed to grease the wheels is probably one of the most outlandish things you can hear in a western country, this alone should have consequences. Sometimes we’re more like Craggy Island than a sophisticated member of the EU. The morning after, perhaps after he realised what he said out loud, or maybe he got an ear wagging from the Co-Taoiseach, Donnelly issued a statement announcing that he’s asked the HSE to suspend vaccine operations at the Beacon.

The episode didn’t wash well with people though; it holds a mirror up to Irish society, in what Sinn Fein TD John Brady called ‘privilege looking after privilege’. Needless to say it has resonated with people and there were hundreds of tweets yesterday expressing opinions, here are some of those messages:

Anyone saying that the alternative was to dump them can absolutely get in the sea. There are Cohort 4 cancer patients being treated in the hospital who have not been vaccinated. This is beyond despicable. @Julie_ODonoghue 

Honestly can’t wrap my head around how not one of the people involved in those Beacon vaccinations didn’t stop for two seconds and think ‘Hmmm, this isn’t right.’ That’s what you pay for, I guess @SineadOCarroll  
 
“Leftover” vaccines is the PR spin word rich people use when they “steal” vaccines from those that desperately need them @paddycosgrave 

Really interested to see what Board members of the Beacon hospital think of the scandal. They include former Taoiseach Brian Cowen and former AIB boss Colm Doherty. Let’s see what they have to say. @ipkehoe 

Beacon hospital could try google maps? - Schools (at least 2 special schools en route) - GP surgeries with lists of vulnerable patients - Dental Surgeries (many dentists have not yet been vaccinated) @sharonlambert0 

They are treating the vaccines like All Ireland tickets @SamDeBrun 

Just heard a TD’s office got a call today from a 77-year-old, offering to give up his own vaccine in favour of his 73-year-old wife who is a cancer patient. The HSE told him, “that’s not how it works.” The Beacon story today has people apoplectic. @gavreilly 

My mother is in category 4 and is a patient in the Beacon hospital undergoing ongoing treatment for cancer. They’ve been unable to give us any information on when she’ll get the vaccine. @aoifstokes  

St Gerard's School is 10km from the Beacon Hospital, as the crow flies. There are 10 schools for children with special needs that are closer to the Beacon, than St Gerard's in Bray. There are over 21 nursing homes closer to the Beacon, than St Gerard's in Bray @KieranCuddihy
 
The vaccine situation in the beaconhospital is akin to a stolen life-ring or stolen defibrillator. For the elderly and vulnerable who are still holding out for their turn a stolen vaccine could very easily become a stolen life @FoghornMurphy 

Mortified if I was a teacher from St Gerards school and I took the vaccine @minnyshell

Dave Murphy is the press officer for the Solidarity party, principal writer for the party’s newsletter, and described by Phoenix Magazine as the most dangerous man in Ireland. He’s recently written about the Pope’s visit to Ireland, growing inequality, abortion legislation, and mass evictions by Landlords.

Even if you’re not a fan of the party or its politics the newsletter is a good place to view real issues facing real people in your community. A recent entry called “Rainy Day Fund? More Like A New Bank Bailout Fund!” is one of the only articles you’ll find criticising the government’s budget in plain language. Whenever I hear someone propose the government spends more money on social services someone always goes; “Where are we going to get the money for that, who’s going to pay for it?”  I wonder how closely people actually look at the budget or if people know what our country's finances are like. 

The fact is we’re a very wealthy country, we’ve sold off and leased some of our best assets, and on top of this rainy day fund there have been massive budget cuts two years in a row by a government desperate to maintain support. Murphy’s article takes a jab at the Rainy Day Fund and questions its real purpose.

Solidarity TD Paul Murphy responded to reports that Minister Paschal Donohoe intends to take €1.5 Billion from the Ireland Strategic Investment Fund to establish the fund, alongside a portion of corporation tax income, to establish the 'rainy day fund'.

Paul Murphy TD, member of the Finance Committee, said:
“The establishment of a so-called ‘rainy day fund’ by Fine Gael and agreed by Fianna Fail is another example of how out of touch they are with reality. For the hundreds of thousands of people affected by the many crises in society – be it housing or health – every day is a rainy day, it's monsoon season.

“People will remember what happened the National Pension Reserve Fund, which was raided to pay for the bank bailouts. That is in reality what this fund is being established for again – it will be a new bank bailout fund. The 'expenditure benchmark' fiscal rule will effectively prevent it being used for necessary public investment. It will only be allowed to be spent in cases of ‘external shocks’, which in reality means when banks inevitably fail again.

“Solidarity has called for the funds in the Ireland Strategic Investment Fund and NAMA to be brought together and used to tackle the housing crisis. Instead, the government plans to siphon off cash to create a safety net for bankers.

“A radically different approach is needed – one which breaks with the neo-liberal orthodoxy and treats the budget as an opportunity to address the housing and public services crises. That means an end to the reliance on the free market to resolve these crises and the implementation of socialist policies based on public investment and democratic public ownership of the key sectors of the economy, including banking, instead. In that way, the wealth in society could deliver a decent life for all and economically and environmentally sustainable growth could be planned for.”
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(Picture from McGoughart)