Sir, – In dealing with the Covid-19 epidemic, there is rightly a focus on the balance that must be struck by the Government between protecting public health and sustaining the economy.
However, it should be noted that all these decisions are being taken by people securely in receipt of State salaries, whether medical specialists, Government Ministers, HSE executives or other public servants.
Those most affected by the devastating economic disruption to their livelihoods, whether business owners or employees, are nowhere represented in this decision-making process.
The result is that the recently produced roadmap faces business with a completely foreseeable and unworkable stop-start level of uncertainty in which no business can plan.
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What we do not have is a strategy and business and employee representatives should be involved in putting this together as Covid-19 is going to be with us for a considerable period and we need to have a plan for living with it. – Yours, etc,
JOHN COLEMAN,
Ballymote,
Co Sligo.