THE money that is being applied to deal with the Covid-19 pandemic reminds me irresistibly of a legendary character from an earlier time.
Viv Nicholson (1936-2015) famously declared she would "Spend, spend, spend" after her husband Keith won the equivalent of several million in today's terms on the football pools, in September 1961.
And spend she did, at such a rate that the money ran out within four years. Her life became the basis for a West End musical entitled, you've guessed it, Spend Spend Spend.
What brought her to mind was the budget announced in Dáil Éireann last week, which involved an injection of €17.75 billion (£16.14bn Sterling) into the southern economy.
Almost half of it, €8.5 billion, is being provided for Covid-19 supports.
The budget was unveiled by ministers Paschal Donohoe and Michael McGrath, two of the most reassuring figures on the political scene, but the obvious question is whether the cost is sustainable.
The European Central Bank has facilitated government borrowing of €20 billion this year at very low interest rates and will back plans to obtain a further €20.5 billion next year.
Ah for the halcyon days when our biggest worry was Brexit. Little did we know that something far more alarming, at least in the short term, was heading our way.
But of course the UK's departure from the European Union also has major economic implications.
As a matter of principle, health issues should always have precedence over financial matters. What good is money, if you're not well enough to enjoy spending it?
But as the current pandemic continues, with no end in sight, the economic cost-factor is looming larger and larger.
In some ways, you have to feel sympathy for our political rulers. They must keep as many people as possible alive and well but they also need to try and ensure that the economy is ticking over. For example, if funding for the health service runs out, then the death-rate could go through the roof.
There is a feeling in some quarters that the Covid restrictions are being overplayed and we need to reschedule our priorities.
A company called Moorezey's Holdings, owned by a Dublin-based technology entrepreneur, took a full-page advertisement in The Irish Times last week to make a number of points, e.g., that "There is literally more chance of dying from being hit by a bus, a car or being in a fatal traffic collision than from Covid-19 - yet our government is not stopping people from driving."
Another point made is that, "94.61 per cent of the people who have died from Covid-19 had other underlying health issues."
Responding to the advert, a letter-writer in the same paper rejected the comparison with motor fatalities, arguing that, if ten people died in car accidents in one month then it was likely on average there would be ten deaths the following month in similar circumstances, but if ten died of Covid-19 then a hundred would probably perish soon afterwards unless the government acted to halt the spread of the virus.
Disagreements over government measures against the coronavirus took a more robust form last Saturday week when a protest by the National Party against the requirement to wear masks as well as other restrictions took place in Dublin at Leinster House.
A counter-demonstration was held at the same venue and clashes ensued between the two sides, with punches and kicks being thrown as well as nuts, bolts and fireworks.
Gardaí intervened, drawing their batons and setting up steel barriers to keep the contenders apart.
The tricolour was being flown on both sides of the divide. The anti-mask people were gathered outside the gates of the parliament listening to a speech from Justin Barrett.
On the other side, a slightly-larger gathering from groups such as Anti-Fascist Action and the dissident republican organisation Saoradh were chanting slogans.
The atmosphere recalled descriptions of the 1930s when forces from left and right battled each other on the streets.
A disturbing experience indeed. Hopefully the debate on Covid-19 and its accompanying restrictions will not take a violent form in future.
But there is a feeling that we have entered a new era where anything could happen and that we all need to stick together in a spirit of solidarity. All for one and one for all.
Email: Ddebre1@aol.com
Twitter: @DdeBreadun
