Government 'determined' to hold 'comprehensive' covid-19 inquiry — Varadkar

Taoiseach Leo Varadkar: 'I have an abiding memory and that’s being whisked out of the Ireland Funds dinner in 2020 in the middle of the meal to be told that there was a meeting on Nphet under way and that the pandemic had come to Ireland.'

The Government is determined to press ahead with a covid inquiry but finding people to sit on it will be challenging, the Taoiseach has admitted.

Leo Varadkar has confirmed a memo on the terms of the covid inquiry would come to Cabinet in the "coming weeks" and it is hoped the group could be set up soon afterwards.

However, Mr Varadkar said filling a panel of five people would be "a little bit trickier" as "you ideally need to have people who are going to serve on the evaluation panel who had no involvement in managing the pandemic or didn't express very strong views that might be considered prejudicial".

"But we are determined to do it, other countries have had their evaluations, their inquiries, we should have it too and it is intended that there will be public elements to it."

The Taoiseach said he expected the inquiry to get “well under way” this year.

Mr Varadkar has previously said a a non-statutory inquiry into the handling of the covid-19 pandemic would not assign blame to any individual.

He said the inquiry would be “comprehensive” and look at impacts on the economy, education and nursing homes.

Meanwhile, Professor Philip Nolan, who was chair of Nphet’s modelling advisory group, has warned against an inquiry based on the one that is being carried out in the UK.

I would hope that any covid inquiry in Ireland is very different from the kind of covid inquiry they are having in Britain because they take that kind of adversarial or judicial approach.

He said an "open, honest conversation about what went well and what could we learn" was critical.

Asked what Nphet got right during the pandemic, Prof Nolan said a broad range of expertise had been mobilised quickly with a high level of trust between public health officials, government and the public.

On the other hand, Prof Nolan said: “If there was one thing that we could have responded on quicker — we perhaps moved too slowly to encourage people to wear masks.”

Professor Philip Nolan has warned against an inquiry based on the one that is being carried out in the UK.

He also said there were “occasions” where communication on modelling was not put across well.

Prof Nolan, now director-general of Science Foundation Ireland, made the comments following an event in Washington DC, where Mr Varadkar presented the St Patrick’s Day Science Medal to computer-science expert Dr Eamon Keogh and technology CEO John Harnett.

The Taoiseach will on Friday meet President Joe Biden in the Oval Office as part of the annual St Patrick's Day trip to Washington and will hand over the traditional bowl of shamrock at a White House reception on Sunday.

His itinerary of events this week included the Ireland Funds Gala dinner, during which Northern Ireland First Minister Michelle O’Neill and Deputy First Minister Emma Little-Pengelly spoke together on stage.

Mr Varadkar said: “I have an abiding memory and that’s being whisked out of the Ireland Funds dinner in 2020 in the middle of the meal to be told that there was a meeting on Nphet under way and that the pandemic had come to Ireland.

“I now have another abiding memory. Seeing the First Minister, and Deputy First Minister on the stage together was powerful, to make the speeches they made, demonstrating the great chemistry that they have. They’re working well together.”