The proposed extension into 2022 of emergency powers to deal with Covid raises fundamental issues for our democracy.
Of particular concern is the apparent public indifference to the extension of a law which allows for restrictions on the freedom of movement and bans on a whole range of events and activities that were considered fundamental rights before the pandemic began.
Such semi-totalitarian powers were justified in the early months of Covid when nobody was sure just how devastating the pandemic might be. However, serious questions need to be asked about why they are being extended until November, with an option to continue them until February of next year, when vaccinations have been made available to all vulnerable people and are now being administered to people in their 40s.
It is salutary to reflect on the way Irish society has been willing to go along with granting the State such power for more than a year when the initial reason for such draconian legislation, the danger of our health system being overwhelmed, has long since passed.
The worrying aspect of this is the way an emergency response has been normalised. It provides an insight into how easily the basic democratic rights we all take for granted can be set aside in the face of a crisis and how a totalitarian reality could become the widely accepted norm without people realising what has happened.
Those who have had a reason to travel between Ireland and other European Union states in recent months have noted that not only have restrictions here been stricter and longer than anywhere else in Europe but that normal social interaction in this country appears to have affected in a far more radical fashion. Social distancing, not to say social isolation, has become the new normal for many people who will probably feel the repercussions for years.
Vaccination rollout
The severity of the restrictions has undoubtedly helped in keeping the Covid death toll down but now that the vaccination rollout is steaming ahead a reassessment is surely overdue. Liam Herrick, the executive director of the Irish Council for Civil Liberties had a point when he stated on Monday: “It’s worth stepping back and remembering exactly how extraordinary these powers are. For over a year, it has been illegal for any of us to leave our homes without a reasonable excuse, or to gather with friends, or to attend a protest. As the risk posed by the pandemic begins to abate, it’s time for real democratic debate on the continuation of these powers.”
One of the reasons the restrictions have been accepted by most people is that they have been devised by a group called the National Public Health Emergency Team (Nphet). If a government on its own decided that such emergency powers were necessary there would probably have been political uproar, mass street protests and internal dissent within the government parties.
However, when a group of experts most people had never heard of not only comes up with far-reaching recommendations but publicly demands that the government of the day should implement them, the public accepts it without question. The Government has now been so cowed that it has hardly dares to question Nphet’s diktats.
It appears that Ministers are scarred by the fact that they sanctioned a greater opening up at Christmas than was supported by Nphet and feel responsible for the Covid surge in late winter. In fact it is arguable that the majority of people were not going to be deterred from a family Christmas regardless of what the Government advised. It is also worth remembering that the winter surge happened across Europe.
Traumatised
One way or another, things have changed considerably since then and the Government is due to announce some easing of restrictions today. There is no reason why the opening up of society in June should not be accelerated with a return to some kind of normality by July so that a traumatised people can enjoy the summer.
There is also a strong case to be made that the emergency legislation should not be extended for another eight months. Given the unexpected way Covid has come back with a vengeance at regular intervals there is always a chance that some variant might necessitate emergency action in the future. However, a legislative blank cheque is not the way to deal with it.
Labour TD Brendan Howlin made the sensible suggestion that the emergency should be extended until September, so that the Dáil would not have to be recalled during the summer if something unexpected happened, but that it should have to be reviewed on a monthly basis after that.
There will undoubtedly be scares in the months ahead as Covid variants are detected but politicians and media need to respond in a calmer and more considered way than they have to date and not inflame public fears at every possible opportunity. People face all sorts of risks in their daily lives and Covid needs to be treated as just one more. After vaccination it has become a more containable risk and Ireland needs to move on unless it wants to be trapped in a cycle of fear from which there is no exit.