An Taoiseach Micheál Martin's potential trip Washington for the traditional meeting with the U.S. President would be "reckless" a TD has said.
Tipperary TD Mattie McGrath is quoted in the
Irish Independent as saying: "To plough ahead with the 2021 St Patrick’s Day White House trip is completely irresponsible as a global pandemic runs riot."
Despite global travel restrictions being in place, Martin has yet to rule out travelling to the U.S. capital to meet Joe Biden and to hand over a bowl of shamrock, as is tradition on St. Patrick's Day. However, he has previously said that the "virus could dictate" whether he makes the trip.
Earlier this week, tighter
Covid-19 travel measures were introduced in Ireland, including a mandatory quarantine period for those who fail to produce a negative coronavirus test.
McGrath said that "it is essentially a case of do as I say, not as I do. The decision by the Taoiseach and his Government to proceed with a St Patrick’s Day trip, in the midst of this crisis, represents more of the misplaced approach."
Last year, then-Taoiseach Leo Varadkar addressed the Irish public from Washington in the days leading up to St. Patrick's Day to announce that schools would be closed amid a tightening of Covid-19 measures.
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