Full speech by Rachel Whelan, Enough is Enough, Dublin 22 January, 2022

Thank you to everyone who has made the effort to come out here today, to continue to fight for their children’s right to bodily integrity and freedom and to push the Government for the complete repealing of the primary legislation which at any moment could be used to reinstate the measures lifted today.

My name is Rachel Whelan, I am a mother and co founder of the Enough is Enough campaign, a grassroots, citizen-led campaign for medical freedom and proportionate and evidence-based response to Covid measures.

To date, our focus has been on the removal of the covid certificates and mask mandates in schools.

So it goes without saying that yesterday’s news to lift some of the restrictions and the removal of the covid discrimination certificate, has provided some much-needed relief to a hugely oppressed and discriminated cohort of people in this country.

However, it’s far from over  and we are now calling for the immediate lifting of all those remaining restrictions, including AND WITH IMMEDIATE EFFECT masks in schools.

It is now 17 months since the Department of Education firstly issued the Face Mask Guidelines for Secondary schools in August 2020. Throughout this entire period, no formal review has taken place on the continued necessity and proportionality of this measure that secondary school children are required to wear face masks throughout the school day.

No initial risk assessment was completed and no review over the 17 months, on the impact these masks mandates have had on your children’s wellbeing, emotional, psychological and physical health.

Children have borne the brunt of the past two years and we’re still forcing them to suffer.

Over a year of education behind masks, not seeing the faces of fellow students or teachers, forced to endure freezing cold classrooms, trying to learn in a highly unstable educational environment all with added exam chaos on top!

Is it any wonder that referrals to mental health services are up almost 50%?

These types of conditions would drive the sanest of us insane, what this government has been allowed to do to these young people is abusive and cruel and without a doubt will leave an imprint of irreversible trauma for years to come, some of which we may never know the impact until later in their lives.

To draw a comparison to the UK, on the official UK Governmental Website, it states when asked:

‘ How long will pupils have to wear masks for?

We will review the advice on face coverings on 26 January and WILL NOT KEEP THEM IN PLACE A DAY LONGER THAN IS NECESSARY’

Yet, the government and NHPET still think it’s OK  to continue to enforce masks on Irish children pending a review in mid February?

They are choosing to prolong their suffering, while the adults return to socialising in packed pubs and clubs across the country without a second thought for these teenagers and children??

What kind of society have we become to think that this is acceptable???

It needs to stop now!!

Masks – off- the- kids!

So what can you do?

Lawyers for Justice Ireland have 2 letter writing campaigns on their Facebook.page.

One for primary school and one for secondary schools.

They have drafted an urgent Complaint for parents to lodge with the Children’s Ombudsman and the Minister for Education.

I would urge all parents to utilise the information put out by Lawyers for Justice Ireland.

They empower parents with solid legal information which enables parents to be proactive and to feel empowered and confident in fighting back.

If past actions and promises made  by the government, such as, 2 weeks to flatten the curve, vaccine passports will never become reality and the promise that vaccine certs would be removed last Oct 22nd, there is no reason to believe this is over.

In fact we know it is far from over, with the children still masked is schools and  talk of new variants and deadlier strains (the Government’s way of reminding people that the dreaded killer virus could emerge at any stage and they may  just need to lock us all down again to keep us “safe”.)

Listening to the Taoiseach yesterday,  using language such as “we may have to revisit these policies in the future” and “let’s welcome this next phase of Covid” should tell us all, that we are far from out of the woods.

Less than two weeks ago, NPHET disclosed that a new paper is being prepared by the Department of Health on the legal and ethical aspects of implementing mandatory vaccines.

We need to ask why NPHET suddenly deem it appropriate to remove the restrictions, open all the pubs and nightclub and fill  stadiums to full capacity…… yet at the same time are now looking into the legal and ethical aspects of mandatory vaccines.

These two actions do not reconcile.

Are they trying to placate us? Sweeten us up before manipulating another situation whereby people willing accept mandatory vaccine…for the greater good.

We know from developments in other European countries such as Austria, Greece, Italy and Germany vaccine mandates are becoming a reality.

We also know that the European Commission’s road map pre covid outlined a plan for vaccine passports to be in place across all EU member states by 2022.

As a mother addressing the government now, ….If they try to mandate vaccines in Ireland they will be met with a resistance never seen before in recent history… mark my words.. they know it’s a difficult battle because a large proportion of this country will oppose it.. Ireland will NEVER allow this policy to take hold here….NEVER!!!!

No vaccine mandates! No vaccine mandates!

So for now we need to take stock and look at what has unfolded, honestly and objectively. And we must lead the way, us who know first hand the dystopian nightmare this time has been, those of us who have seen what a future of QR code accessed living looks like.

We must drive forward with our cause for medical freedom not with anger, blame but with open hearts and minds. Because it is our job to create a united front of all citizens – every one of whom has been negatively impacted in some shape or form by the events of the past two years. Vaccinated, unvaccinated, young, old, across class, creed, race and gender. We need to come together to create our own united movement based on underlying principles of true equality, bodily autonomy, autonomy of mind and freedom from propaganda.

At a time when public trust in institutions is in danger of being sorely eroded – as the truth of the past two years of disproportionate, extreme and harmful measures comes to light – the powers that be must hear us loud and clear.

We must demand accountability for the decisions made by the government and NPHET, we must demand an inquiry into the handling of nursing homes at the start of 2020, and we must demand that those responsible for the damage, Hurt and trauma inflicted on the people of this country are held to account. We will not forget what they have done.

And we will never allow it to happen again!!!

We call on all businesses to play their part here too. The segregation measures did not serve you! There is no future for a hospitality trade that polices people’s bodies! Now is the time to unite and say,

Never again

Never again. Never again.

We also encourage everyone here to get on board with the campaign4truth,we want you all to stay in touch with us offline in case our social media is ever curtailed,  so I’m gonna ask you all to take out your phones,…. text TRUTH and your name and county to 51444. This will ensure you never miss out on local and national events and initiatives this campaign get behind. …….., you can also sign up to the website www.civilrights.ie

Now is not the time to be complacent, it’s now more than ever that we much push back on the government and ensure this legislation is repealed fully and the masks are taken off the children once and for all.

I want to thank everyone here for all their efforts to speak out, their actions to oppose the certs and who stood up for their rights and their children rights.

But remember, it is not our government’s place to tell us when we are free….we where born free!!!

They should never hold this power over us!

And until the legislation is repealed and the mask guidelines reversed, we will not stop!

Enough is Enough!!!