Mary Lou McDonald has called for a ‘Fortress Ireland’ approach to beat coronavirus.
The Sinn Fein leader said that a similar approach to what was implemented during the Foot and Mouth disease crisis in 2001 is needed.
The entire island of Ireland was treated as a single entity back then and there were strict restrictions on animals and people arriving anywhere on the island.
The open border we have as a result of the success of the Peace Process means that there are no restrictions on people from Northern Ireland flowing south and this could be a risk to public health in the Republic of Ireland during the pandemic.
And it emerged this week that gardai don’t have the power to stop day-trippers who can cross the border and travel anywhere they want ignoring our 2km travel restrictions.
Ms McDonald was speaking on RTE’s Today with Sean O’Rourke when she said: “The central point of what I am making is the common sense point and that is the absolute necessity, reflected today for example by the CBI (Confederation of British Industry) and IBEC (Irish Business Employers Confederation) who now are correctly for an all-Ireland economic recovery model, my goodness that is the case with public health.
“When our national herd was in jeopardy (during the Foot and Mouth crisis) and when it was necessary we adopted a Fortress Ireland approach and there was a lockdown to protect the island and our animals.
“My goodness, with the public health emergency, it’s pure common sense that we need an all island and a unified approach in dealing with this pandemic.”
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