Paul Hosford: Government cannot keep hiding from scrutiny

Limited speaking time in the Dáil has reduced the ability of Opposition TDs to hold the Government to account on its policies and decisions.

Taoiseach Micheál Martin’s seemingly casual confirmation that severe restrictions would last for an additional nine weeks means that Ireland will have been in level 5 for 15 weeks, but the narrow scope of the Dáil debates does not allow for a full parliamentary overview of the Government’s approach to dealing with the pandemic. Picture: Julien Behal Photography

Next Saturday, Ireland will be one year into its battle against the coronavirus.

On February 29 last year, the first case of Covid-19 was detected here, though few at the time could have fathomed the effects it would go on to have.