Open Letter to Local Councillors

Dear Councillor, 

I am writing this email to express my disappointment at the Government’s decision to close down gyms and other recreational and sporting activities. 

For a Government who claims to prioritise the mental health of the population, this decision flies in the face of that rhetoric.

According to Jim Daly, Minister for Mental Health, in his message regarding the Government’s “Sharing the Vision: A Mental Health Policy for Everyone” Policy, Mr. Daly states that “Our good health is very precious to us all. Mental Health particularly requires a range of commitments and responses to ensure good outcomes”. 

Minister Daly, goes on to say the Sharing the Vision Policy “will provide a roadmap for our mental health services over the next ten years and will help us to deal with the increase in demands on our services in new and imaginative ways. I am confident that this policy will change lives for the better”. 

In light of these statements, made on the 18/06/2020, I cannot help but see the Government’s recent decision to shut all gyms, regardless of membership numbers, space or locality of the gyms as both hypocritical and wrong. It is commonly known that gyms account for a very small percentage of the infection rate and surely physically active and healthy bodies can withstand Covid-19 better than physically inactive and unhealthy bodies. 

In a time where I, and many other people have found their day to day level of social interactions hugely undermined, through working at home, reduced contact with friends and family or travel restrictions, mental health is now more important than ever before. Local gyms, like that of my own, are a small respite during times like this. Gyms offer a small chance to interact with people in a safe, clean manner. A chance to improve physical health, and in doing so, improve mental health. 

Upon close examination of the Governments Budget 2021 Plan, I see that €15 million has been “dedicated to Mental Health Supports related to Covid-19 and €23 million dedicated to the Sharing the Vision Policy. 

As a concerned citizen, I do not want simply more governmental spending to support mental health, I want the freedom to take care of my own mental health. Namely through physical exercise in my local gym. 

I end my email with one request, that you campaign for the reopening of gyms throughout the country, that you do this on my behalf, and on the behalf of many nameless people who do not email you today, but feel the same way.

Regards

The Times: Gym races to reopen with mental health plea

The Irish Daily Mail: Gym Owners Angry over Cabinets U-Turn on Closures