Time to lift the 5km/20km restriction?

Sophrosyne said:
Legislation, including the 5k travel restriction is contained in S.I. No. 121/2020 - Health Act 1947 (Section 31A -Temporary Restrictions) (Covid-19) Regulations 2020
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Yes, I'm well aware of that. And of the three subsequent SIs that amended it. There are a couple of problems though.

Firstly, the government keeps contradicting what's in the SIs. The classic example being the over-70s. Also the concept of a necessary journey.

Second, the Government are remarkably slow to publish the SIs. Typically, they're not published until some time during the day they're actually in force. This leads to the remarkable situation that citizens have no way of knowing what the law actually is! Statements by ministers explaining the yet unpublished SIs are invariably misleading. Journalists are worse than useless and confuse matters even more.
When the SI is eventually published, it claims to have been made a few days previously. If this is the case, why was it not published at the time of making?

Thirdly (and on fairness this is a problem with much Irish legislation) the SIs are now very hard to follow. Later SIs amend earlier ones, sections are added and deleted, and, to work out what is and is not permitted, would require having both documents open and extensive cross referencing between them. It would have been much simpler to make and publish a consolidated version of the Regulations.

Putting it all together, it seems like there is a deliberate policy of muddying the waters and making it difficult or impossible for citizens to know what the law is. This is just wrong in principle and is undemocratic in nature.
 
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IsleOfMan said:
If I drive in my car 20 kms to a scenic location.... I get out of my car and walk my walk. Is this any different to doing this within 5 kms of my home?
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I suspect that the 5 km limit is intended to prevent half of Dublin turning up in Glendalough for their walk.

The unwind plan (and this Government) has long jumped the shark. Time for a fast-track easing . . 1m social distancing . . masks on public transport and in shops . . test anyone arriving in Ireland and deliver a result within 24 hours . . 6th class should be back in school in June . . pity they made a snafu of the LC, that should be going ahead as scheduled in June . . if ICU nears capacity then implement a short lockdown until levels drop again, rinse and repeat.
 
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michaelm said:
I suspect that the 5 km limit is intended to prevent half of Dublin turning up in Glendalough for their walk.
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It would have seemed reasonable to me to have one limit in cities versus rural areas, when you think of the amount of people\services in a 5km radius in Dublin or Cork versus 10-20 radius in Mayo, for example.
But probably hard to define \ legislate, so they went with the conservative figure.
 
@michaelm yes you are right, I dont understand the current strategy even from a government point of view, they have been widely commended by their handling of the corona virus situation up to now with Leo Varadker being probably at the height of his popularity, however they look like they are about to "snatch defeat from the jaws of victory".
 
joe sod said:
I dont understand the current strategy even from a government point of view, they have been widely commended by their handling of the corona virus situation up to now with Leo Varadker being probably at the height of his popularity, however they look like they are about to "snatch defeat from the jaws of victory".
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I think one of the factors in us being slower is the constraints on testing - unless you want to run the risks the UK are running.

For comparison, in France the radius is 100 kms.
Under France's lockdown all non-essential journeys were banned and every trip outside the home - even just to the boulangerie to get a baguette - required a permission form... Prime Minister Edouard Philippe said that a permission form (attestation) would no longer be needed when leaving the house, except for journeys of more than 100km. Journeys of more than 100km can only be taken for "imperative" reasons, such as family emergencies and vital work reasons.
 
Duke of Marmalade said:
I have a stock excuse ready if I am caught “I am just testing my eyesight”
Except maybe if I have doubts about my eyesight I shouldn’t be driving
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Just make you put your young child that you were trying to protect in the first place in the back seat while driving to test your eye sight. Also, make sure you drive to a beautiful scenic town and just get out for a minutes to see how the eyes react. Also good to this on a day that just happens to be your wifes birthday.
 
the virus is suppressed in the community, I would think in phase 2 a further loosening of the restrictions will occur, however, this would obviously be predicated on figures continuing on the downward slope
 
Sunny said:
Just make you put your young child that you were trying to protect in the first place in the back seat while driving to test your eye sight. Also, make sure you drive to a beautiful scenic town and just get out for a minutes to see how the eyes react. Also good to this on a day that just happens to be your wifes birthday.
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Brilliant!
 
With regard to RyanAir's decision to begin flights on July !st, how does this marry with government restrictions on travel within the country.
Could you book a holiday in Spain but be stopped by a Garda on the way to Dublin Airport from say Cork or Galway?
 
The 2km/5km restriction made sense when we were on full lockdown. Exercise was the only non essential reason to leave home and the feeling was 2km or 5km hopefully gave everyone somewhere to exercise and prevented crowding at beaches, parks or scenic spots. Of coarse it wasn't very fair for example I have multiple dedicated walking or cycling paths and a park within 5km but my parents only have country roads which are getting busy again. However people got the message generally.It also stopped people moving to holiday homes and spreading the disease.

Now that garden centers, electrical and hardware stores are open it seems contradictory that someone can go browse at one of these stores anywhere they like but not see a family member 10km away. The rules at least appear to be more arbitrary.

The distance has been frustrating for me as I was away from Dublin (home) for a few days to visit my girlfriend down the country and we went into lockdown. It made sense to stay as I could WFH, wanted to be with her and I wasn't sure I was permitted to drive back to Dublin. Thus I have been without a lot of my stuff for a few months. Its not essential but it would make life more comfortable for sure. I would love to have my bike :). I could go pick it up without any interaction with anyone. I'm sure similar (or being apart) must have happened to other couples who don't live together or close. I'm surprised I have not heard more about it to be honest. I am sure many people just took a chance and traveled but its got to be putting a strain on relationships that's more important than a few flowers.
 
My understanding of the 2km restriction as it was, and the 5km restriction as it currently is, applies to exercise only.
Stay At Home, but you are permitted to exercise once per day within 5km of your home.
But, if you’re doing a weekly shop and the supermarket is 7km away, go for it.
Or if there is a family emergency 15km away, go for it.
Or if you must go to work and your commute is 20km away, go for it.
 
Mostly correct but there's no restriction to one time per day to leave your home for exercise. The once a day thing is in the UK legislation not ours.
 
Drakon said:
My understanding of the 2km restriction as it was, and the 5km restriction as it currently is, applies to exercise only.
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The 5km limit also applies to small groups meeting outdoors:

'Groups of up to 4 people who are not from the same household can meet outdoors. This can include a family meeting an individual friend or neighbour, a group of individuals meeting outdoors, and two couples meeting outdoors.'

Public health advice in place right now

www.gov.ie www.gov.ie
 
Purple said:
Great if you live in Kerry, bummer if you live in Louth. Lauth is particularly bad as it's small and there's nothing nice in it anyway ;D
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It's Karmic revenge on Louth people for inflicting on us the worst accent in the entire world.
 
The “within your home county” restriction is to scupper the plans of those with holiday homes, I assume.
 
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