Boris Johnson contacted Taoiseach over prospect of Level 5, FF meeting told

British prime minister Boris Johnson made contact with Taoiseach Micheál Martin last Sunday night expressing his concern about the prospect of the Republic going into a Level 5 lockdown and creating a large disparity with guidelines in the North.

Details of the contact between the two leaders emerged at a meeting of Fianna Fáil colleagues on Wednesday night that also heard Mr Martin express concern that Northern Ireland was becoming a coronavirus “hotspot” with potential spillover to the Republic.

The Taoiseach conveyed his concerns to Mr Johnson about the deteriorating Covid-19 situation in the North where the number of daily cases is running at more than twice that of the Republic pro-rata.

Mr Martin emphasised the Government had not decided to go to Level 5, but that it was a recommendation of the National Public Health Emergency Team, and would be subject to a Government decision.

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Both leaders agreed to have a follow-up call later in the week.

The contact between the Taoiseach and prime minster was disclosed by Mr Martin at the weekly meeting of the Fianna Fáil parliamentary party last night.

He also told the meeting he had spoken to both Northern Ireland First Minister Arlene Foster and Deputy First Minister Michelle O’Neill on Monday evening about the situation North of the Border.

The Northern Executive is not in a position to offer the same financial incentives to affected businesses and vulnerable entities because of budgetary constrains.

Mr Martin told the parliamentary party he will tell the British prime minister the North needs more “financial firepower” in a follow-up call, which is expected to take place in the coming days.

Mr Martin told the meeting of Fianna Fáil TDs and Senators that Northern Ireland was becoming a significant “hotspot” for the virus and there were concerns now about spillover of the virus from north of the border to the south.

He said one way to avert that was if further financial assistance was given to help businesses in the North that would have to return to being shuttered as controls on societal activity were increased.

Mr Martin also said the current trajectory in the State was very worrying, but it echoed “tales of woe” across the European Union.

He said there was a real need to make Level 3 work because if the alert level went to four or five, the detrimental impact on society, on the economy, on health, and on mental health, would be severe. It wold also have a serious impact on efforts to keep schools open, he said.

There was consensus among TDs that the decision to go to Level 3 was the correct one. However, several members at the meeting, including Robert Troy, Pádraig O’Sullivan and Marc MacSharry, were critical of the massive tailbacks caused by Garda checkpoints yesterday. Mr O’Sullivan told the meeting that hauliers and delivery companies missed deadlines and ferry crossings after being stuck in traffic.

The Wicklow Senator Pat Casey, himself a hotelier, strongly protested about the rules in Level 3 in relation to the hospitality industry. He said that eating in restaurants and hotels occurred in a controlled environment and argued that as a result of the ban on indoor dining, people would revert to meeting in homes, which would increase the risk of the virus.

The Cork East TD James O’Connor made a similar argument last week. Last night, he criticised the lack of engagement by Government with airlines and airports, pointing out that Ryanair was now within seven days of axing its base at Cork Airport.