Professor Caroline Fennell:

To underscore here, there is an issue with regard to clarity. It is an incredibly important dimension of the rule of law. People need to know when it is that they are about to trip into or go over the line of criminal liability. It is undoubtedly the case that there has been a blurring of those distinctions in Government communications over the period of the pandemic and this has led to difficulties for the policing of the pandemic and for An Garda Síochána. It has also led to difficulties on the part of the public, who at times simply do not know or are confused as to what they can and cannot do, and when. This is in contrast to normal times when it is extremely clear whenever one is about to trip into that borderline of criminal liability. That is a fundamental point and is aggravated by the raft of regulations, which we saw a moment ago physically, in terms of the amount of information. That was difficult for the Garda but how difficult is was for the public, particularly in the context of mixed messaging.