Grey areas inevitable as a dormant economy re-opens
Last week I wrote that the executive was handling the business of easing Northern Ireland out of lockdown with more aplomb than they managed when imposing the Covid restrictions.
Mark DevenportPolitical editor, Northern Ireland@markdevenporton Twitter Cue the columnist's curse, for that now seems to have gone to the dogs. Quite literally in the world of dog groomers, who were told they could re-open from 8 June by Arlene Foster. Shortly after the first and deputy first minister's announcement, I tweeted that dogs could get groomed but humans still can't (and for all those keen to inform me that dogs can't catch coronavirus, yes I knew that thanks, it was just an attempt at an amusing aside). However, after that tweet, I was deluged by dog lovers telling me they were in fact getting their pooches made over already. One provided a letter from the Environment Minister Edwin Poots confirming that there are no rules banning dog groomers from going about their business provided they do it safely. It's inevitable, given the complexity of re-opening a dormant economy and society, that there will be grey areas. Yet the level of confusion does seem extraordinary, plus the absence of any point of reference to answer the public's understandable queries. So we have hotels being told they can start to take bookings, when many were doing this anyway. But no sign of a date when they might re-open. Estate agents in one council area are told they can carry out house viewings (as revealed by Stephen Nolan), but not in other local government districts. At the Stormont presser, the first minister criticised those who have turned out in large numbers for some recent funerals and not obeyed social distancing. She said mourners should adhere to the guidance because "it is very clear that only up to 10 people should be attending those funerals". By contrast, in a recent appearance before the Assembly Justice Committee, the Attorney General John Larkin told MLAs that the law on funerals "contains no numerical limitation". Mr Larkin said the number 10 was just a "rule of thumb" and if someone dies who has 14 siblings he could see no reason why they could not all attend. Inevitably people are getting frustrated by these inconsistencies. At the same time, we all need to remember that the draconian rules were put in place in order to keep us all safe. A premature easing would be counter productive both for public health and the economy. For now, with a bit of trimming around the ears from my other half, I shall resist the temptation to book myself into a dog groomer and put up with my lockdown hair. One twitter user reckons - my current mane puts me in pole position to get a role as the "Lion" in a forthcoming production of "The Wizard of Oz". The only production I am booked in for is this Monday's Inside Politics North Antrim Q&A. My guests will be the TUV Leader Jim Allister, the DUP MLA Mervyn Storey, the Sinn Féin MLA Philip McGuigan and the Ulster Unionist councillor Darryl Wilson. Any questions for our panel can be emailed to Inside.Politics@bbc.co.uk or tweet them using our hashtag #bbcip