Professor Niamh Hardiman:

My point is that we never really know until it is too late. It is easy to identify with hindsight. What I am suggesting is that we need to be vigilant against the danger that we might be becoming too complacent, with everyone thinking things are fine and sharing the same world view about how policy works. We should always be wary about a comfortable consensus and willing to listen to critical voices when they emerge, with a view to making space for them and assessing the validity of what they have to say. It is too easy to exclude critical voices when they are uncomfortable, but they may be the harbingers of future dangers about which we do not know from within our cosy consensus.