DELIVERANCE IS NIGH, BUT WE STILL HAVE MUCH WORK TO DO

WERE they asked, the man or woman in the street would happily settle for a definitive plan that would bring us back – as opposed to send us hurtling backwards – in the quest for a return to normality. People have fretted over how long they must wait before they might plan their lives again.

And now they know: until there is a critical mass of vaccinations, there can be no significant loosen- ing of the constraints on daily living.

The point was made plain in Taoiseach Micheál Martin’s address.

The Resilience and Recovery plan – the sequel to Living with Covid – was something we would all prefer to have skipped.

The Government have embraced the latest mantra of being faithful to the data, not dates. And, given so much is beyond their control, this makes sense. Yet a far tighter focus on what is within their purview might save both the nation, and themselves, from further heartache.

Core lessons seem to be learned the hard way. There can be no “living” with Covid, as the new Government position illustrates. It must now only be “managed”.

For too long when people wanted a roadmap, they felt they were offered a maze. But Mr Martin now believes – at last – there is a way out. But it will be slow, arduous, and utterly dependent on the arrival of vaccines.

He has also accepted belatedly that “people are fed up”. Resentment has been building against the Government for treating the nation as faceless “stakeholders” or “cohorts”.

Engaging frankly with the feelings of loss and frustration of people, after a year in lockdown, ought not to be too much to expect.

The pace of change will be paramount.

The growing danger of variants has reinforced the case for prudence, as Mr Martin acknowledged.

It must also be borne in mind that an awful lot of things still need to go right before we get to the other side. And Mr Martin is correct: if we open things up, we must keep them open.

We simply cannot live in a suffocating cycle of lockdowns. Infections, hospitalisations and deaths are on a downward slope.

But numbers are still high.

The phased return to school, and graduated steps to restore as much of ordinary life as is possible, has by necessity to be measured.

The tragic fatalities after Christmas and the tsunami of cases must serve as a sobering reminder of what happens when we move too quickly.

Necessary buffers must remain in place until then. Across the water, spring and summer are already being regarded as “seasons of hope”. We may have to wait a little longer for ours. We saw how devastating a third wave was; a fourth would be unconscionable.

Deliverance may be tantalisingly close, but it will still be difficult to grasp.

It’s worth reminding ourselves that what we do individually is still as important as anything done by Government.

Core lessons are learned the hard way