"Advisers advise, ministers decide." This guiding principle of Margaret Thatcher which was articulated during a discussion around economic policy in a very different era, has been recalled in the British press in recent days.
Many years on and the question of who calls the shots has come to the fore like never before, as authorities take extraordinary measures to deal with the coronavirus crisis.
Here, like almost everywhere, huge decisions are being directed by teams of experts. The Taoiseach and the Minister for Health in particular have made a virtue of being lead almost entirely by scientists and senior medics - namely the Chief Medical Officer, Dr Tony Holohan and the National Public Health Emergency Team (NPHET).