Tony O’Brien: The time for state micro-management of hospitality sector is over

The sectors hardest hit by Covid-19 should at the very least have a seat at the table when decisions affecting them are being made

‘The government is now overreaching in trying to micro-manage the detail of multiple business sectors that it has little real understanding of and where it will bear no practical accountability for the consequences of its mistakes.’ Picture: Rollingnews.ie

For months now, it has been increasingly clear that the centralisation of power and decision-making in the hands of permanent and elected members of government is both addictive and untenable.

Sections of the opposition have also become hooked, and in their rush to find exploitable weaknesses in the coherence of the government’s decisions – not exactly a challenging task these days – they all too often find themselves arguing for tighter restrictions than we still ...