Extending emergency powers without justification is simply the nanny state running wild

New Covid measures have drawn wide criticism from opposition TDs and the Irish Council for Civil Liberties. Are they justified?

When in opposition, Stephen Donnelly described extraordinary measures as 'draconian' but has  sought an indefinite extension of them in recent weeks. Photo: Gareth Chaney/Collins

‘Power is in tearing human minds to pieces and putting them together again in new shapes of your own choosing’ – George Orwell, 1984.

We’re such a pathetic lot. They keep insulting our intelligence and we keep accepting it. Perhaps it is our Catholic-dominated history, but it seems we are wired to subject ourselves to incredible limitations on our freedoms time and time again.

Two weeks ago, it emerged from Cabinet that Health Minister Stephen Donnelly was seeking to extend four different sets of emergency powers relating to the Covid-19 pandemic.

We often hear that ‘extraordinary times require extraordinary measures.’ The arrival of Covid-19 and the Government’s response to it has certainly been dramatic and the passage of sweeping draconian powers has been the most alarming aspect of the whole saga.

The Government can now restrict travel to and from Ireland, restrict travel within Ireland, stop gatherings from taking place, close premises such as schools and businesses, and extend social welfare entitlements for people who are affected by the Covid-19 pandemic.

The sacrifices we have made in terms of our personal liberties in the name of the greater good are certainly extraordinary and have already been in place for too long.

Yet despite this, Donnelly proposed and Cabinet accepted that four separate pieces of emergency legislation, introduced since the arrival of Covid-19, needed to be extended until November, but with a provision to extend those powers indefinitely.

The emergency provisions that Donnelly sought to be extended were the Health (Preservation and Protection and other Emergency Measures in the Public Interest) Act 2020, the Emergency Measures in the Public Interest (Covid-19) Act 2020, the Criminal Justice (Enforcement Powers) (Covid-19) Act 2020, and the Health (Amendment) Act 2020.

Without any advance trailing, the matter was slipped in amid a heavy Cabinet agenda but immediately alarm bells were ringing.

While the Cabinet gave its approval, the extension needed majority consent from both the Seanad and Dáil, which it eventually got this week. But not easily or without considerable rancour.

All opposition parties and Independents voted against the measure in the Dáil, but the extension was passed by 73 votes to 68 with no abstentions. It was passed in the Seanad last week.

During several days of debate, the Government faced cross-party opposition criticism that it was using the Oireachtas as a “rubber stamp” for these “extraordinary measures”.

Donnelly amended his legislation to extend the powers until November after which they can be rolled over for a further three months - but they will not go beyond February next year on foot of the concerns of opposition TDs.

But TDs told the minister he was asking for a “blank cheque” as parties introduced unsuccessful amendments for a July or September sunset clause on the legislation, with a full review and comprehensive justification for any further rollout.

In proposing the extension, Donnelly said some members of the Seanad referred to these powers as draconian which, he said, is not an unfair description.

“I used the same description both as Minister for Health and when I was opposition spokesperson when the initial legislation was introduced early last year. They are draconian but the measures concerned have provided us with the necessary tools to stop the disease from spreading uncontrollably, especially any exponential spread, and help keep people safe, first and foremost,” he insisted.

Extraordinary times and all that.

Ultimately, the measures have provided the means to protect public health and keep people safe, he said.

It is not for his benefit, of course. It is for our own good, Donnelly said, as he extended the sweeping powers he now enjoys.

Donnelly said that the Government has consistently sought to introduce measures where necessary to protect public health and they are kept under constant review. The measures have been tough and very challenging but they have worked and have saved lives.

The defence for starving us of our full liberty until next February is that we have had one of the lowest excess mortality rates from Covid-19 in Europe and the measures we introduced - and, more importantly, the public support for them - ensured our health service was not overrun.

Whatever the justification for introducing such emergency powers in the first place - and even then the basis was dubious - we are in a completely different situation now.

When they were introduced, we knew little of how this virus transmitted. We had conflicting advice around masks and whether they worked or not. We were told children were super spreaders only for them to be the complete opposite.

But the primary change has been the development, arrival and rollout of the vaccine.

We are in a completely different position now in June 2021 compared to where we were a year ago, and even six months ago.

The concerns and alarm voiced in recent days have not been restricted to the opposition.

Former minister Richard Bruton, the mildest of mild men, expressed misgivings about the renewal of all the pandemic emergency powers given that the conditions have changed. Mr Bruton raised concerns about falling into the “lazy use” of exceptional powers.

Independent TD for Wexford Verona Murphy, who supported the introduction of the emergency powers, was scathing in her criticism as to how they were used, saying the “nanny state is looking to wrap us all in cotton wool”.

She said people who were sceptical about the lockdown approach were cast aside and ridiculed, while the professional curtain twitchers and scaremongers were given a soapbox at almost every possible opportunity.

Sinn Féin called for the emergency powers to end on July 9, Labour said September, and Social Democrats co-leader Róisín Shortall said there was no justification “for the automatic rollover of these powers". 

Her party would support a six-week extension of the measures if the minister came back on July 14 with a reassessment of the situation. Her party colleague Catherine Murphy said the minister was asking people to give a “blank cheque” to very serious powers.

The Irish Council for Civil Liberties (ICCL) has too voiced its concern at the extension and the impact of our freedoms they are having.

One disturbing aspect is that had the powers not been continued, the Garda Commissioner advised that members of An Garda Síochána would not have a clear lawful basis for entering a licensed premises to address breaches of the Covid-19 regulations. Liquor licensing legislation would not provide a power of entry for the specific reasons of addressing breaches of Covid-19 public health regulations.

We couldn’t have had that now, could we? Even though the Gardaí have shown a deep reluctance to use such powers, it was deemed safer just to keep them there just in case.

Why?

With hospitalisations and ICU numbers at a fraction of where they were, the only conclusion that can be made is that this extension has less to do with the public health emergency of last year and has much more to do with the nanny state writ large.

I am no conspiracy theorist and I do not write such a conclusion easily, but it is difficult to see it any other way.