Terms of ref and Covid enquiry

Nah, I was in one of the main Dublin hospitals for an appointment during the week.

The majority of people who were actually mostly elderly were not wearing masks. So I don't think they are that traumatised.

Personally, I wore a mask. The amount of bugs and doses circling around at the minute sitting in a cramped waiting room without a mask seemed a little silly. Not because I'm traumatised just I've better things to be doing with meself than getting sick.

The Government has agreed to establish a …well…err…..something to inquire into, sorry, to evaluate the management of COVID.

Not a Public Inquiry nor, I think, a Commission of Inquiry, certainly not a Tribunal (God between us and all harm!). But we have a name - Professor Emerita Anne Scott.

The Taoiseach's final comment is telling - he wanted to get this done before shutting up shop but there was only one thing the Coalition could agree on - they didn't want to leave this to the next Government. The "details" (the whole substance e.g.the terms of reference, the legal powers) are to be agreed later - by whom? the next government?

If the Shinners/Left get in, they will tear up this piece of paper but if they set up the Irish Inquisition it could backfire on all politicians.

Will this be an election issue? Not if Boards is any guide. No comment here since January.

I call BS on that. I'm rural and a pensioner. Older people are right back in the swing of things. The bingo, ICA, local dances, bowels clubs, young at heart meetings etc are right back to how they were. They're going to the doctors surgery, without a doubt, I can guarantee you the surgery is far from empty. They're back enjoying a pint in the local too. The image you're portraying would be comical if it weren't sad that somebody is spreading such a false impression.

Criticism that is not paywalled (and not UKnews😩)

I wonder which system of government is capable of interrogating itself and learning lessons. Has any country produced a comprehensive and balanced assessment of its Covid response?

In the UK, it turned into a show trial with confessions dragged out of WhatsApp groups. The EU has done a series of reports on its performance but no one in Ireland seems interested. None of our political parties have pressed for a public airing of this history - that's why a minimalist approach has been adopted, and at the last possible moment. No one knows e.g. how much damage the schools closures did to our kids but common-sense says that disadvantaged kids suffered more. Yet the Left were strongly in favour of keeping schools closed. And grade inflation hasn't solved the problems.

Ultimately, the purpose of any inquiry should be to learn lessons for the future. Who knows when the next pandemic will strike. Has anyone the guts to ask Xi Jinping if "gain-of-function" experiments are on-going in Wuhan?

https://www.eca.europa.eu/en/publications/SR-2024-12