No €1,000 pandemic bonus for family carers but maybe now we can live again? 

The announcement that restrictions are being lifted was warmly welcomed, and while carers are being overlooked in the €1000 bonus from Government and left scarred by the effects of the pandemic, we are now looking forward to a return to living.

With childcare centres and schools closed, home-schooling became the norm, with not always the desired effect.

Like so many across Ireland, I listened to the Taoiseach’s announcement on Friday at 6pm. I had eagerly expected this day for a while, and could not wait to hear if and what restrictions were being lifted.

Our day of hope had finally come, and despite the unusual level of optimism on the RTÉ News, my mind wandered back to the start of the pandemic in 2020, nearly two years ago. And back to January 2021, when we had reached a whole new dimension of doom and gloom.