Ireland, for the most part, has embarked upon it's 'new normal'. You can grab a pint with your pals in a pub if you book it in advance and have a 'substantial meal'. Throughout the entire coronavirus pandemic, I've been watching and taking in the information spread by the government of Ireland. This blog has been on my mind to do for some time, then I listened to Blindboy’s Podcast on June 17 in which he described the government's approach to the pandemic as 'infantilisation' and 'post-Catholic'. So, bear with me as I try to unravel this minefield of phraseology.

At first, we were being asked to come together

In March, everything happened so suddenly, seemingly overnight, that the main message to the Irish was simply: stay home as much as possible. There was a language of hope, rallying together and just looking after ourselves and others. Leo Varadkar posted a thread on Twitter on the day he announced lockdown measures. The thread ended with him saying that we are a nation of strong people who will make it through. This remained the message throughout the initial announcements of lockdown and the first month of the lockdown measures. However, in the lead up to Easter, Simon Harris, in particular, started to speak to his followers on Twitter in a way that suggested he wasn't trusting the public to act responsibly.

Simon Harris tweeted a lot in April

The language Harris used was unprofessional and more 'dad'. His choice to use the word 'dangerous' was also a slap on the wrist type scenario. If he had chosen to call it 'risky' or 'unsafe', the tone would have changed.

Then, the next day, he was placating his followers, i.e. everyone in Ireland, by saying that even though it's all been hard, that we can all do this.

April 16, he tweeted 'let me be really clear, we are not where we need to be yet'.

April 18 saw him refer to the 'appalling and frightening direction' that Ireland was headed in, very hyperbolic language.

On April 19 he tweeted to say, "I would shudder to think where we would be without [Dr Tony Holohan, Dr Ronan Glynn]". In fact, throughout April, Harris' tone was very passive-aggressive, using hypothetical scenarios and rhetorical questions. It worked, people listened, but it's not a very professional or adult-centric way of communicating.

RTE News would then take some of Harris' statements and use them verbatim, contributing to the patronising and placating language. The other problem is that these statements are not based on fact, but conjecture. A 'potential air of complacency' is not a tangible thing to be seen or heard.

Ireland started to reopen in May

Phase One of the easing restrictions was announced to take place on May 18, but before this, Harris continued to use language that wasn't professional. On May 9, he referred to Covid-19 as a 'disgusting virus'. Of course, we do not deny this, but to hear a government official and representative say this, it's not the right tone.

Similarly, Harris' cool guy approach to asking people to maintain physical distancing and hygiene measures is apparent in his May 10 tweet where he says he 'gets it' and then says there is a 'bottom line'. This type of approach is similar to one used when reasoning with children, "I get it, you're not happy about being grounded, but tough". In this instance, he could have simply said: Lockdown is easing on May 18th, not before, so adhere to the restrictions until then.

That approach would have been clear, concise and to the point, not chastising or, as Blindboy called it, infantilising. The day before Phase One easing started, he again used very specific language. He said that he was 'nervous' for the country, and asked people to go about the easing with care. Asking people to act with caution and care is fine, but by saying he's nervous could instil a sense of anxiety in others.

Then we had the face masks on public transport debacle

At the beginning of the pandemic, the advice was that there was no real need to wear masks as we went about our day-to-day activities. This was double-sided, it reduced the demand for essential PPE and at the time, there was no facts-based evidence that masks reduced the spread or risk of the spread. Given that the vast majority of people were at home and subject to movement restrictions of 2km, 5km and then 20km, there was no major urgency for mask-wearing.

However, once the travel restrictions were eased and non-essential shops were opened, there was an awareness-raising campaign launched about the use of face coverings on public transport. This was launched ahead of the June 29th major reopening of Ireland. Yet, rather than making masks mandatory or advisable, they were 'strongly recommended'. Mandatory activities are enforceable by legislation, a government advisory is one level below that, and then a 'strong recommendation' has no real strength.

If you think about your own language usage, you recommend things that you think someone would enjoy or find value in. If you're giving advice, you generally do so from a strong opinion, which can be backed up by your own knowledge. If you say someone must do something, then you are taking a very strong position. Strongly recommending something is just asking, rather than telling.

This Dublin Live article highlights the different ways that transport companies politely asked people to wear face coverings. The approaches ranged from 'urging passengers' to wear one, to asking passengers to 'please wear one' and then 'actively encourage' passengers to wear one.

As they were advisable, people didn't seem to wear them, and so the government decided to make them mandatory. However, there was debate around when this would come into effect and how it would be policed. This debate seems to be still ongoing as of July 13, with the Association of Garda Sergeants and Inspectors (AGSI) saying it's up to transport staff to enforce the legislation, and the National Bus and Rail Union (NBRU) advising its members not to do so.

On June 29th almost everything re-opened

While it is a somewhat precarious time, with people now broadening their social circles and close contacts, the language used is once again, instilling a sense of fear and anxiety in members of the public. Tony Holohan explicitly said he was 'worried' about travel overseas and his 'fear' that many people were planning to travel abroad on holiday. The advice is to avoid non-essential travel, but there is nothing in place that really enforces this. There has been a perpetual kicking down the line approach to potential 'air bridges' with other countries, which is raising people's discontent. It also means that people are not entitled to refunds if they cancel their holidays.

There was also a change in government there in the midst of the pandemic, and on the day of the reopening of pubs serving meals, hairdressers and other non-essential things, the new Taoiseach mentioned the 'indiscriminate cruelty' of Covid-19. 'Cruelty' by its definition is a cruel action or inhuman treatment done with the intention of inflicting harm. Not language to be used in discussing a virus.

Martin's language and phrasing continued in a very casual and parental way over the past week, saying that he was 'disappointed' by the cancellation of the Cork Jazz Festival but agreed it was responsible leadership to cancel it. By leading with his disappointment, it negates the solid and responsible decision that was made. People's attention is grabbed by the front-loaded information, i.e. the information said first, and in this case, the disappointment got more attention.

This patronising and parental language usage continued after footage emerged over the weekend of crowds of people gathering in Dame Lane in Dublin, drinking pints they had gotten to take away from the newly reopened pubs. Simon Harris, in a very dad-like manner, told people to keep using their 'cop on'. Yet another thing we've all heard from our parents who don't agree with our behaviour.

To add to this, Martin has suggested that pubs without restaurant licenses may not be allowed to reopen on July 20 as previously outlined. He even went so far as to say that it's 'up to everyone to behave', which couldn't be more patronising and parental than if he had told everyone they were having their pocket money rescinded.

In conclusion, the Irish Government are acting as parents

I know that this blog has taken a different approach to others, and it is heavily focused on tweets by Simon Harris, but that's because he was most vocal on Twitter during his time as Minister for Health. I know, at their core, the message is for the people of Ireland to take care and be aware that the virus still exists, but the way this was communicated to us was as if we were children seeking guidance. It can ultimately result in a loss of trust in our own decisions and judgement: the government opened everything up, I can go out again!

It's a placating way of governing, asking us nicely to maybe consider doing something, then getting annoyed if we don’t do the suggested something.

Parenting the pandemic: the language of the Irish Government