Taoiseach: 'Inquiry' into handling of Covid-19 would hamstring future responses

Taoiseach Micheál Martin speaking at a press conference at Government Buildings in Dublin about plans to lift the vast majority of remaining Covid-19 restrictions. File picture

The Taoiseach is open to an "evaluation" of Ireland's handling of Covid-19, but says that calling it an inquiry implies that people are to blame.

Micheál Martin said that he was wary of an official inquiry hamstringing responses to future emergencies, but said that "without question" lessons had to be learned. He said that he wanted the legacy of the pandemic to be a "better-resourced health service".

Speaking to the RTÉ News at One, Mr Martin said that while "many hands are still on deck", an evaluation of Ireland's pandemic response would be carried out within the months after it ends.

"Without question, we have to evaluate how we performed, and learn lessons to equip us for the next emergency pandemic, or whatever. And those lessons right across the board. 

And the reason I use the word evaluate is that inquiry sometimes conveys a sense that we're out to get people, that you almost have people held up and told you did wrong, you did this, you did this. 

"In the future, when you have an emergency you do want people to work nimbly, flexibly, and fast. We don't want them hamstrung.

"It can't be long-fingered or anything like that, because we have to learn lessons from this pandemic."

Asked how the Government can justify reopening society while the Delta wave of Covid-19 is still not at its peak, the Taoiseach said that much of society has already reopened and the high rate of vaccination made this possible. 

He said that having 90% of adults vaccinated had "changed" the scenarios, particularly with regard to public transport.

On booster shots, Mr Martin said that the Government would be following NIAC advice, but said that the booster campaign would not be a mass-population one. He said he envisaged that the initial phase of the booster campaign would see the most vulnerable receive theirs.

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Mr Martin said that no thought had been given to slowing down the pace of reopening in places like Monaghan and Donegal, where rates of infection are high and vaccination is lagging.

He said that while it is possible to institute local restrictions, this had not yet been considered. He appealed to people in those counties to get vaccinated as soon as possible.

The Taoiseach said that the pandemic had shown the need for a much stronger public health system within the HSE. 

He said that all of the infrastructure which was used to deal with the pandemic will be "transitioned" with NPHET "streamlined" into the existing Department of Health structure and the vaccine taskforce into the National Immunisation Office.

Asked about revelations that other ministers delete text messages, Mr Martin said that he does not "do government business by text".