State’s response to pandemic ‘failed to fully engage with all human rights safeguards’

Irish Council for Civil Liberties seeks an end to mandatory hotel quarantine and the Covid tracker app

There has been an over-reliance on police powers to ensure compliance with public health guidelines during the pandemic, the ICCL report said. Picture: RollingNews.ie

The state’s response to the pandemic went too far in some instances and failed to take into account the consequences of restrictions on human rights, the Irish Council for Civil Liberties (ICCL) has said.

A report published by the ICCL on human rights in the pandemic was highly critical of mandatory hotel quarantine (MHQ), which it seeks to end, fines for breaches of restrictions, and the lack of clarity on protest legality during the pandemic.