Leo Varadkar has promised to fast-track the road out of lockdown if it’s safe to do so.
And the Taoiseach admitted that “of course” the Government may have been too cautious with the draconian restrictions introduced during lockdown.
Mr Varadkar also acknowledged that the “whole issue of secondary deaths,” where people are dying from other things apart from coronavirus, could be on the rise because of the lockdown.
And he said that the social and economic impact of the strict lockdown must be considered too.
The Taoiseach was speaking on Newstalk Breakfast this morning when he was asked if he was “keen if possible to fast-track the phases” out of lockdown.
Mr Varadkar said: “Yes.
“But if, and only if, the data says it is safe to do so.
“We’re very much reliant on the CMO (Chief Medical Officer) and NPHET (National Public Health Emergency Team) to be in charge of the data.
“But I’m conscious that in other countries, albeit countries that went into the crisis before we did, that they’re opening up.
“In Italy and Spain outdoor bars and terraces are opening and wouldn’t we all love to have that opportunity this weekend.”
He was then asked if he thought we were perhaps being “too cautious” in the easing of lockdown restrictions, and he said: “Of course, I mean we’re always conscious of this whole issue of secondary deaths, people who don’t die with Covid, but die of a consequence of some of the decisions to get Covid under control.
“That’s the late diagnosis of cancers for example, it’s people not going to hospital when they’ve chest pain or they’ve symptoms of stroke and potentially dying as a result, so we worry about that all the time.
“Mental health impacts too and of course the longer this goes on the more severe the impact is on the economy.”
