Mary Lou McDonald: 'Coronavirus does not give a damn for the border'
Sinn Féin leader Mary Lou McDonald has said it is “just baffling” that there isn’t an all-island approach to the Covid-19 outbreak.
Ms McDonald told Newstalk’s Pat Kenny show that the virus does not respect borders. “Managing this crisis is not actually a political thing in the first instance – this is biological, this is about public health, it is about keeping people well,” she said.
“In previous times, when there was a real and live threat to the national herd, we adopted a ‘fortress Ireland’ approach. It was very clear that when it came to animal health that we have an all-island singular approach.
“Well my God, it is just baffling that we would not have an all-island singular approach in terms of public health. The reality is – politics aside – we are a small landmass, we are a small population and for the purposes of managing this crisis and staying ahead of things and flattening the curve and all of that we are a single population.”
Ms McDonald said there may be regional differences in terms of clusters and hotspots. “The coronavirus does not give a damn for the border in Ireland.”
The Sinn Féin leader also said she had written to the Taoiseach setting out a range of concerns that she believed must be addressed before the lockdown can be relaxed.
In the letter, she welcomed plans for officials to talk with Ministers from the Northern Ireland Executive on Tuesday, adding that the “last few weeks have shown how critical it is to deal with this crisis on an all-island basis.”
