Mass travel, from the influx of Italian fans after a cancelled rugby match, to Cheltenham, to holiday makers returning from Spain and the ‘meaningful Christmas’ shows a leadership that has been unwilling to learn from cruel experience

Even in a normal year, the Department of Health would be under strain – and this is the polar opposite of a normal year

Vaccinating the population is a huge and tricky task: giving someone full authority over the enterprise would be a good start

The top civil servant is likely to be a game-changer in the role

An all-island strategy to contain the virus is desperately needed, but parochial political concerns are dictating otherwise

The public don’t trust the pharma sector, but this could change when the Covid-19 vaccine rolls out

A mere €1m in funding for public sector innovation isn’t going to cut it: the government has to step up to the plate

Stephen Donnelly needs to act on a meaningful, updated plan for implementing the healthcare reform envisioned in the report

The government must be cured of the idea that it understands business sectors better than those who run them

Analysis: Without an all-island agreed coronavirus strategy, it is stupid and unforgivably negligent to leave the border uncontrolled

Our approach to Covid-19 is characterised by indecision to no one’s benefit

Last week's fiasco was emblematic of Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael's failure to communicate a flawed but comprehensive pandemic strategy

The politics of the budget and the 2021 funding allocation for health will make or break Stephen Donnelly’s tenure as Minister for Health

Most of us remain willing to do whatever is necessary to protect ourselves and others, but the public’s patience should not be tested

As every other player in society swiftly rose to the challenge of beating Covid-19, those leading the schools system dithered dangerously – and are still dithering

Sex trafficking is an affront to human rights, but a group representing sex workers say they were excluded from all discussions on an Irish law enacted in 2017 aimed at tackling the problem but which they say will make it worse

No government can be expected to get everything right on Covid-19, but the authorities have no margin for error on this one

The dramatic claims and counterclaims with regard to the rate of Covid-19 infection among our healthcare staff are not helpful. What we need is openness and a willingness to learn

The next programme for government must tackle both healthcare reform and ongoing health service operations

Meeting in the historic chamber to practise social distancing still risks the spread of infection