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Colette Browne Opinion Feelings of frustration are understandable – but Covid doesn’t care about our feelings 

It’s not often you hear the head of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, America’s health protection agency, openly express fear for the future, but that is what Dr Rochelle Walensky did yesterday.

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Colette Browne Opinion EU is world’s largest maker of vaccines so it’s about time it started to flex its muscles

When EU leaders meet tomorrow to discuss their disastrous vaccine roll-out programme, they should consider an important question. Why, given the bloc is the largest manufacturer of vaccines in the world, have so few of its citizens received a jab?

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Colette Browne Opinion This St Patrick’s Day, on our anniversary of lockdown, let’s raise a glass to ourselves

St Patrick’s Day, this year, will be different. There will be no parade, no live music, no singing, no dancing, no pubs and no parties with friends and family. For the second year in a row, our national holiday has become a nondescript day, just like any other.

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Colette Browne Opinion With the Taoiseach’s vaccine targets in tatters, we must broaden search for jabs

Does anyone know what is happening to the vaccination programme – and, if you find out, can you let the rest of us know?

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Colette Browne Opinion Government ploughing on with affordable homes scheme – despite what experts say

How many expert opinions does it take to dismantle a government policy? One? Two? Three? Four? Keep counting.

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Colette Browne Opinion Every effort must be made to retrieve oral histories of mother and baby home survivors

With three days to go until the Mother and Baby Homes Commission ceases to exist as a legal entity, we are being told that audio recordings of hundreds of witnesses which were deleted may not actually be gone forever. It is another usual twist in a most emotional saga. For decades, survivors of mother and baby homes have been denied a voice and denied autonomy. When they fell pregnant, many through rape and abuse, they were marched to the doors of religious institutions.

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Colette Browne Opinion If we are to recover from economic chaos, we need to get more women back to work

It took the women’s movement decades to increase female participation in the labour force, but mere months for Covid to decimate that progress.

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How much longer can the State and the law continue to fail dying women?

When Emma Mhic Mhathúna succumbed to cervical cancer in 2018, leaving five children behind, her funeral cortege wound its way by the Dáil, Government Buildings and the Department of Health.

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Colette Browne Opinion No minister has been as powerful as Stephen Donnelly – so why does he seem so clueless about our next steps?

No minister in the history of the State has been as powerful as Stephen Donnelly is right now. Not only does he hold the nation’s health in his hands, but also the fate of the economy – because our economic recovery is entirely dependent on our ability to crush Covid.

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Colette Browne Opinion An all-Ireland approach to Covid means both sides must learn from past mistakes

There have been repeated calls for an “all-Ireland” approach to covid on this island, but we already have one – both jurisdictions are committed to half-measures that will inevitably prolong the crisis.

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Colette Browne Opinion Trump’s attacks on women’s rights were despicable – so they told him ‘you’re fired’

Donald Trump’s preferred method of ingratiating himself with women infamously involved grabbing them by their private parts .

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Mary Lou McDonald's misstep undermines her support of abuse victims in the Dáil

What was Mary Lou McDonald thinking?

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Colette Browne Opinion Mother and baby homes are not a distant Ireland, they are in living memory and the State’s conscience is not yet clear

Amid the pages of the harrowing Mother and Baby Homes report, two things stand out: the deaths and the complacency.

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Colette Browne Opinion As situation deteriorates we need straight answers from Government, not deflection

When an out-of-control articulated lorry is careening towards you, the only way to survive is to react swiftly and jump out of the way. Unless, of course, you are a member of Government and prefer to remain stupefied, in the middle of the road, bracing for impact.

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Colette Browne Opinion Broken rules can have dire consequences – it’s time we showed some solidarity to help break the curse of Covid-19

Tripadvisor describes Verbier, a ski resort in Switzerland, as boasting “a unique panoramic outlook with views over the Combins range, Mount Blanc and even the Matterhorn”. This scenic vista was not enough to entice hundreds of British tourists, who arrived there over Christmas, to remain in situ when they were instructed to quarantine in their rooms instead of hit the slopes.

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Colette Browne Opinion Level 5 return is worth its weight to reduce risk of indoor super-spreader sites

Dreams of a respite from Covid over Christmas were cruelly dashed yesterday, with news of a return to Level 5 restrictions, but there are reasons to be hopeful.

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Colette Browne Opinion Row over Mayo school’s closure highlights lack of clarity over how outbreaks are handled

PUBLIC health teams have advised people to restrict their number of contacts in advance of Christmas – unless you happen to attend a small school in which there is an ongoing outbreak of Covid-19.

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Colette Browne Opinion Sinn Féin should discipline Stanley to help fulfil worthy ambitions across Ireland

At the weekend, Sinn Féin recorded its highest ever Red C opinion poll result having attained 30pc first preference support. However, instead of basking in positive headlines, the party was mired in controversy.

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Colette Browne Opinion The State is complicit in keeping abused women trapped inside with nowhere to go

For most of us, our homes, throughout lockdown, have been a safe space. A sanctuary where we shelter from the danger that lurks outside. But what do you do if the biggest threat resides inside – and your home becomes a cell in which you are trapped with your abuser?

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Stop scapegoating young for virus spread – Covid doesn’t care if you drink pints or tea

Remember house parties? Everyone agreed they were to blame for the upsurge in coronavirus cases for the last few months. Selfish young people were callously ignoring public health restrictions and attending debauched parties, at which the unwelcome guest of honour was always Covid-19.

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Colette Browne Opinion Trump’s demise ramps up the pressure on Johnson to make his Brexit gamble pay off

The political demise of Donald Trump has caused shockwaves around the globe which could reset international relations and spare us the trauma of a no-deal Brexit.

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Colette Browne Opinion If Biden wins, he’ll need a plan to rebuild hope in the American dream – and fast

The United States is at war with itself and the American dream is dead. If the next president wishes to heal a bitterly divided nation, he must restore people’s hope in the promise of a better future.

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Colette Browne Opinion Election 2020: Democrats must learn to use the system to drive home their advantage

The only chink of light in 2020 could be the imminent defeat of Donald Trump in next week’s US Presidential election, but his profound influence on politics and society will be much harder to dislodge than the man himself.

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Colette Browne Opinion There is no hope if all we have to look forward to is permanent lockdowns

Last week, in an address to the Fine Gael parliamentary party, Leo Varadkar said the Irish people would demand an exit strategy if the country moved to Level 5. Well, we're here. Where is it?

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Colette Browne Opinion Support for businesses - but those on a precipice were forgotten in Budget

When the Covid-19 crisis is eventually over, what kind of society do we want to emerge from the ashes? A return to business as usual or something that is stronger, more resilient and fairer?

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Colette Browne Opinion Instead of attacking Nphet for trying to tackle deadly Covid, perhaps ex-Health Minister Varadkar could consider why ICU capacity seems to be running out

Leo Varadkar has said it is time for the National Public Health Emergency Team (Nphet) and the Government to "get back on the same page". That's the last thing we need.

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Colette Browne Opinion Sipo watchdog has been barking for years - but politicians refuse to give it any teeth

Micheál Martin has called for a review of lobbying legislation after Fine Gael senator Michael D'Arcy resigned his seat to join a financial services lobby group. Perhaps Leo Varadkar should break the news to him: we already had a review. It was published in February.

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Colette Browne Opinion If we're truly all in this together, those who flout Covid guidelines must be punished

Gardaí sprang into action on the first day of Level 3 Covid restrictions in ­Dublin, turning out in Dolphin's Barn in the south inner city in large numbers to man a checkpoint. At least eight gardaí were present on Saturday afternoon to stop cars, query motorists about their travel intentions and check the boot of their cars - in case Covid was trying to surreptitiously hitch a lift.

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Colette Browne Opinion Ignore the trolls - through individual action and collective power we can stop this virus

We are standing at a crossroads in our coronavirus response. On one side lies death. On the other, hardship but hope. The most important message delivered to the public yesterday did not come from members of the Government. It came from Professor Sam McConkey, the head of international health and tropical medicine at the Royal College of ­Surgeons Ireland (RCSI).

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Colette Browne Opinion Ireland needs all EU friends it can find and McGuinness's powerful voice will help

Mairead McGuinness is now one of the most powerful politicians in the country, having been chosen as Ireland's new commissioner and awarded an economic portfolio.