The political challenge to deal competently and effectively with the pandemic remains immense. It's obvious that political systems worldwide don't have the ability to outwit the virus.
Therefore, the task centres on keeping populations as unified as possible. This relates both to their response to the dangers posed and an understanding by government of the financial safeguards required.
However, if the Dáil is an accurate measure of the public's mood, then today's debate there suggests the difficult yet largely politically harmonious phase of the pandemic has ended.
Gone are the early days of the crisis when the opposition's contributions were frequently more akin to a reminder than a rebuke.