I very much do not think we should come down this hard on people questioning the draconian (maybe necessary but draconian nevertheless) restrictions on civil liberties in place now, and particularly their indefinite extension. Robust criticism is always good, and necessary

A caretaker government is in power. We are in uncharted territory on checkpoints, enforcement, Garda powers, immigration restrictions, movement restrictions, working restrictions, restrictions on protest and speech. It is still the coercive forces of the state carrying this out

The lockdown was undoubtedly necessary. Its length, who is targeted for restrictions, what powers the Gardai continue to exercise, what enforcement looks like, all of these things are up for debate. Listening to experts is good, but not sufficient. Dissent must be allowed

I have disagreed with Mark Paul at the Times on almost everything else in the past, but he's not wrong to be nervous about giving the state the power to detain you for two weeks without a charge. It should make you nervous, even if you reluctantly support it

And we should ask ourselves why it seems more possible and urgent to detain individuals who have committed no crime than to, say, seize the meat production facilities where owners recklessly let the disease spread in the name of profit and expediency