Táinaiste Leo Varadkar has admitted that his lockdown “curtailed people’s freedom,” and told his political colleagues that he is surprised at how extreme his own lockdown has ended up being.
Speaking in the Dáil last week, Varadkar spoke about the “extraordinary” laws passed regarding covid-19.
“We have passed some extraordinary laws in this House and signed into law some extraordinary regulations I never thought we would because of the pandemic,” he said.
“We have curtailed people’s freedom in a way I never thought we would in the past year or so and we have given the Garda powers to do things I never thought we would give it the power to do.”
However, the Táinaiste proceeded to justify this on the basis of the pandemic, adding that it was his goal to remove the laws as quickly as possible.
“This is an unprecedented situation,” he said.
“This is a pandemic and it is not over yet but, in my view, the sooner we can expire those laws the better. I want to see people’s individual freedoms and the inviolability of their homes restored and Garda powers returned to what they should be.”
Varadkar told the Dáil that he had a commitment to “individual liberty and personal freedom.”
“The sooner we can get rid of these laws the better,” he added.