FM and DFM reflect on one year anniversary of first lockdown announcement

Tuesday, 23 March 2021 13:49

By Hannah Spratt @Radio_han

First Minister Arlene Foster and Deputy First Minister Michelle O'Neill

By PA reporter

Reflecting on the anniversary of the first lockdown announcement, Northern Ireland First Minister Arlene Foster said the region has experienced its worst year in living memory.

“It’s been a hugely difficult year for so many people in Northern Ireland,” she said.

“I think back to when we were told about the lockdown and I think of all the people that have lost their lives during this year, yes to Covid of course, but also those people who have passed away and who haven’t been able to have the normal funerals, the normal grieving process, the normal celebration of life that would normally take place.

“I think about all of those people who have really sacrificed this year – the key workers, all of our young people, the older people who have been isolated – so it has been probably the toughest year in living memory.

“There are still some people alive who remember the Second World War, but I think it’s probably been the toughest year in living memory for a lot of people.

“So, it was absolutely right that we should take a moment at 12pm to remember what has happened this year, and to hopefully look forward to better days.”

Arlene Foster acknowledged there were things the Executive could have done differently as it responded to the pandemic.

“Obviously there is things that we would have done differently if we had known what was coming in the future but I think there will be a time to look back and reflect on all of the decisions that have been taken, how we took them, the pace in which we had to take them,” she said.

“I think what was very clear to me, from executive colleagues, and of course we have our differences at time, but we all wanted, all of us, to do what was right for all of our community.

“For some of us having to close down the economy was hugely difficult. We’ve spent most of our political career building up the economy, building up our tourism sector and hospitality sector, and to have it closed for the best part of a year has been hugely damaging for people’s livelihoods and indeed for their well being.

“We have had to take decisions for the greater good, which have been hugely, hugely difficult. I’m on record of saying that this has been the toughest year of my political life.”

Stormont deputy First Minister Michelle O’Neill said it had been a year of “huge challenge”.

“It’s always useful to take a step back and actually reflect on what’s been, but I also like to look towards the future and I think it’s important that we give people hope that there are brighter days ahead and that we have an opportunity to get back to some semblance of normality,” she said.

“I think that certainly for me whenever I reflect on the year that’s been, there’s certainly been many challenges, there’s been many sleepless nights.

“It’s been a time where we’ve demonstrated that as political leaders when we work together we actually can support our people and it’s something that’s hugely, for me, a very strong point over the past year.

“Albeit at times there was difficulties and different approaches, but I think, collectively, we’ve worked together to try to do the right thing.

“That’s all we were trying to do every time we had big decisions to make. It was about trying to do the right thing for people and to get them through what was something that none of us knew how to deal with, none of us had predicted and certainly whenever we restored the executive in January of last year, none of us would have predicted that we would face a global pandemic and that we would be still sitting in the middle of it one year later.”