Letters to the Editor: Rejoice in fact that Covid won’t last forever

Maybe we will all cry tears of joy when pandemic finally departs the global stage

I wonder was I alone as I cried today with joy over the impending passing of this truly horrific pandemic era we’ve all endured this past year and continue to live through. As my tears trickled down my face, the bright summer sunshine, late in its arrival, shone forth its warmth and hope.

I pondered how those who lost loved ones during the pandemic and couldn’t grieve with the normal funereal rituals would learn how to cope? I cried salty tears of cleansing saline, human brine, albeit knowing that things just won’t be fine for many.

I’ve wondered about this past year’s lessons and, indeed, at the grander purpose of plagues and pandemics within the history of humanity? Maybe these epochs arrive to amplify our human understanding about the really important things in this life. Maybe Covid-19 was nature’s way to make
us all refocus and relearn resilience, creating an opportunity for us to revise and amend how we all cope with life’s woeful troubles and strife.

Maybe we will all cry tears of joy when Covid-19 finally departs the global stage, almost like a shared universal act of release and realisation, which will remind us (as if we needed reminding) that we’ve all been through a very long dark night.

Our shared darkness will hopefully end in a bejewelled horizon of blue magenta illuminated by a new dawn’s rays of sunlight — a new beginning into which we will emerge reassured, safe in the knowledge that, even the bleakest moment, no matter how short or long, never totally lingers and stays forever.

Life through pandemic times reminds us of the permeance of impermanence and the constant of change, as if magnifying the simple notion that nothing is forever — except perhaps hope and eternal love.

Stay safe and take care.

Paul Horan

Assistant Professor

School of Nursing & Midwifery

Trinity College Dublin

Raising funds for Pieta House

We are fundraising to help Pieta House who provides a free, therapeutic approach to people who are in suicidal distress and those who engage in self-harm.

We are doing this to support our brother-in-arms Gary, who recently lost a good friend to suicide, and also to help promote physical and mental health by bringing people together in these difficult times.

On June 4, starting at 4pm, we will run four miles every four hours for 48 hours, this challenge has kept me actively training through the lockdowns and has been a huge success in keeping everyone’s spirits high in these difficult times, we all support each other and we all can’t wait to complete this challenge. Here’s the link for the fundraising:

gofund.me/5d1449c9

Charles McCarthy

Cork

Ransomware blame lies with lax security, naivety

This morning I lodged a small personal cheque to a joint account using ATM facilities. Sometime later, I was contacted to drop into the bank and countersign the cheque as it contravened new regulations which only allow cheques to be lodged or cashed by the sole payee designated. The official offered a profuse apology for the inconvenience but no apology was necessary or appropriate. The bank, in what is ever becoming a more threatening situation, was simply trying to tighten regulation to protect customers from fraud and rip-off.

Following the recent ransomware experience in the HSE, it is likely all computerised services and utilities will be subjected to greatly increased hacking. As hackers get better at their craft and use the very best equipment available, enormous amounts of money can be demanded under the verifiable threat of crippling paralysis of vital systems. Ransoms will have to be paid until the safety of computerisation becomes almost foolproof, which is likely to cause immense access problems for many. Until, of course, access is only by living DNA.

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The blame for such a difficult situation developing lies squarely with naive and lax governments, administrations, and media. Such a crisis should never have been allowed to happen. Intense scrutiny, investigation, and in-depth debate on the enormous and invasive impact the genius of modern technology can have on social and economic existence should have been constant. Great power to enhance can, in the wrong hands, and for malicious reasons, be used to debase and destroy the greatest success ever achieved by the human race. Such possibilities were never seriously considered.

Apathy, indifference, and refusal to take technological transformation seriously is resulting in gross and criminal abuse of communication systems.

Well-thought-out and agreed protective regulation is practically non-existent. Productive ability to achieve practically anything may mesmerise but is expected to operate benignly under economic ideology and regulation which evolved over centuries of ingrained inability, shortage of everything, and failure for most. Such inert policy makes a mockery of the genius which developed such benign potential as unregulated, it opens opportunity for untold harm rather than intended help for millions who increasingly feel abandoned and helpless in a new world order.

Discussion of these matters should have been intense and constant over the last two decades; ever since modern technology began to show its potential. Such serious discussion has been practically non-existent however; ravenous appetite to embrace and exploit as many benefits as possible, without any consideration of consequence or longtime effect, has been practically universal. Well, the honeymoon is over. The world either seriously considers and discusses all aspects of technological change and strengthens the positive while regulating and preventing as much negativity as possible, or the potential best times could quickly become the worst.

Pádraic Neary

Tubbercurry

Sligo

Abortion legislation not fit for purpose

Minister for Health Stephen Donnelly was noticeably absent from the Dáil last week when Holly Cairns TD asked when the review of the Termination of Pregnancy Bill would be happening. Many more of us at home are wondering the same thing.

Our legislation is woefully inadequate and there are many barriers to reproductive healthcare still remaining. Research tells us that around 400 people a year still travel for care and many who have qualified for care in Ireland have been failed miserably.

Where is Minister Donnelly on this? The silence is deafening! Minister, when will the 66.4% of Irish citizens who voted to trust pregnant people to make their own decisions have a date for this review? We want to see a government that is unafraid to face these issues and take the opportunity to fix our weak legislation. We can and should do better.

Lucy Boland

Dunmanway

Cork

Lack of toilet facilities

What is utterly ridiculous is there are bars open and selling takeaway beers and cafes selling food and drinks to consume while disallowing those same people to use toilets on the promises.

Where is the law? It requires any premises selling food or beverage to have customer access to toilet facilities.

This is a completely nonsensical situation. I have visited carefully managed bars with a takeaway drinks service that also allowed people —in a controlled manner — to make use of their toilet facilities.

Keith Harris

Limerick City

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