People Before Profit cllr Adrienne Wallace has added her voice to the rising demands for EU Commissioner Phil Hogan to resign following the controversial dinner party organised by the Oireachtas Golf Society, which was in apparent violation of Covid-19 restrictions.
Cllr Wallace slammed Phil Hogan for “acting like he was above the law and potentially undermining the clear public health guidelines”. She added that “Mr Hogan should have to abide by the same standards as Mr Calleary and resign from his post. Many of us have made great sacrifices during this pandemic but Mr. Hogan and the rest of the ‘old boys club’ that met in Galway seem to extend a frivolous disregard to the pain people have experienced as a result of Covid-19.
“Even Mr. Hogan’s response since the news broke has been far from fitting. He has hidden behind a Spokesperson issuing statements instead of personally addressing and listening to the people. It is a further insult to people here”.
Cllr Wallace also called for the Dáil to be recalled to address the clusters of Covid-19 in the meat factories. She added “Following the resignation of Mr. Calleary there is no way the country can go on for three weeks with no Minister for Agriculture considering the issues in the meat processing sector. No attempt has been made to address the bad working conditions that have given rise to these clusters.
“In fact the government chose to lockdown three counties instead of regulating the meat industry. They are choosing to put the private profits of the beef barons ahead of public health and it is dangerous. The government cannot seem to get a handle on the crisis. Ireland is experiencing one of the sharpest spikes of Covid-19 in Europe while these politicians are on holidays. We need to act quickly and the Dáil should be reconvened immediately.”