It's Time Government Trusted Public To Be Sensible Over Xmas

This really should be the last of the national lockdowns unless infection rates soar to shocking levels in January.

- Joe O'shea

Unless infection rates soar to shocking levels in January, this really should be the last of the national lockdowns.

Six weeks at Level 5 nationwide – at the end of an already hugely difficult year – is surely the limit of what this country can take.

In terms of jobs (170,000 people immediately out of work), for the economy and for our mental health, this second national lockdown has been a gruelling experience with potentially far-reaching consequences.

We are seeing lockdown fatigue everywhere, including large crowds that are paying no attention to restrictions in our city centres every weekend.

When the pubs briefly opened earlier this year (seems a lifetime ago now), I visited a couple of my locals and felt perfectly safe having a few pints in a carefully controlled environment.