There is no doubt that the economic impact of the tough new Level 3 social and economic restrictions for Dublin will be very serious, not just for the capital but for the entire national economy.
But there is no doubt either, that the economic impact of not acting decisively, would in the end, have been even worse. The facts, about where exactly the country has been heading, speak for themselves.
Nationally, the number of confirmed cases of Covid-19 is growing by five to seven per cent per day, with exceptionally strong growth in Dublin.
The 14-day incidence of the disease per 100,000 people nationwide is up 50% in the past week alone. The head of modelling for NPHET, Professor Philip Nolan, explained this week that we could have