Rónán Mullen (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I join the Cathaoirleach in congratulating our Danish friends today. These days, when colonisers and attempted colonisers are being brought again before the bar of history, perhaps it is time that we asked the Danish Government for an apology for the appalling murder of Brian Boru. The fact that he might have had some Irish co-conspirators or there might have been someone involved is no excuse. No doubt if James Joyce was here he would say, "Viking me Aarhus".

On to more serious matters. There is light at the end of the tunnel regarding Covid, but there has been no let up in how aspects of it are being mishandled by official Ireland. I spoke last week about how outrageous it was for the Government to seek an extension of its emergency powers until next February, some five months after it told us everyone in the country would have been vaccinated. As we know, on Saturday Dr. Tony Holohan tweeted about crowds socialising in Dublin city centre. As has been the pattern for 12 months or more, within 12 hours of the tweet the usual competition started. The Taoiseach, Tánaiste, Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine and Minister of State for European affairs, among others, all scrambled to issue statements agreeing with Dr. Holohan in ever more solemn and foreboding tones. Within 24 hours of that tweet the Tánaiste was threatening local knockdowns and talking about a possible fourth wave of the virus.

Exactly what had changed between the announcement of the easing of restrictions at teatime on Friday and Sunday morning when the Tánaiste made this threat? What new knowledge had emerged to justify that change? If the Government seriously fears a fourth wave, why did it sign off on an easing of restrictions on Friday night? The answer to all of this is, of course, that nothing new had emerged. All that had changed was Dr. Holohan's tweet. I do not like the dynamic that a tweet from the Chief Medical Officer sends the country and its leadership into a spiral of activity of this kind.

It used to be the case that backbench Deputies and Senators were the ones scrambling to curry favour with Ministers and the Taoiseach. These days, it is the Taoiseach and Ministers who are scrambling to curry favour with the Chief Medical Officer. He is a civil servant who works for, and is supposed to be answerable to, them. Important policy statements made in response to tweets is no way to run a country.

I heard Senator John McGahon speak eloquently about the impact of the pandemic on young people and the associated restrictions. In a letter to The Irish Timestoday, Ms Orla Heatley asks how the elders are repaying those young people. She said there is demonisation across the media, they are being chased around and fined by gardaí for Government-recommended outdoor socialising and there has been a closure of the very public spaces needed in order to actually do some socialising.

There is a lot of talk about weaning people off the PUP, but these events show us that the real weaning that is needed is the weaning of official Ireland and the Government of its addiction to Covid lockdowns and doom and gloom. The extreme overreaction to people socialising in the first proper weekend of sunshine this year shows that civil servants and Ministers cannot get their heads around the fact that as restrictions are eased people will have more freedom and will expect to exercise that freedom.