It's last chance saloon for 'all in this together' mantra

But this is not a game. As a nation, we have endured more than 4,700 deaths, with close on a quarter of a million confirmed cases, untold financial, physical and mental health stresses, and an abject sense of alienation from each other for more than 12 months.

Coupled with this, we have had a shaky vaccine roll-out programme, unnecessarily compounded with controversy.

For some, it feels that at this stage we are living in something akin to an open prison camp, and it feels like we have nothing to show for it. It is perfectly reasonable to see that patience is becoming increasingly threadbare.

Let's look at the facts. Nearly three in four of us (73pc) are still hugely concerned with the current situation. We have been on this roller-coaster journey with its peaks and troughs, but this time it seems different. We are becoming queasier than before. Look where we are over one year on.

Nearly three in four (74pc) feel the pandemic is impacting on our lives; levels not seen since April 2020.

We have come out of an emotionally harsh winter where the figures shocked everybody, but in some ways our sense of stoicism held through; maybe because of the dark nights and winter weather, we became inured to it. However, the critical point, unfortunately for the authorities, came on March 12, when the anniversary of the first lockdown dawned.

The first of our waypoints in terms of pandemic anniversaries hit shortly afterwards - St Patrick's Day. The novelty of the lockdown was replaced with frustration with the lockdown. Our initial pandemic points in time were now in the rear-view mirror as we faced into year two.

And now Easter is upon us. The dull and depressing reality has hit us as we spot that these pandemic marker points are a reminder of a year gone by, with seemingly little progress, but promises of great things ahead. Again.

This is where the Government's position is becoming increasingly precarious - the public isn't buying into the collective spirit anymore. Support for their actions during this crisis has collapsed.

This time last year we had resounding support for their actions (78pc in agreement with their policies).

For the first time in this series of polls, we see minority support overall for their actions (43pc), and with that, even those that do endorse them are less sure-footed. Just one in 10 strongly approves of their approach now, versus 49pc a year ago.

Approval for Nphet's response, while still in positive territory, has also become more vulnerable to the public's impatience with lockdown. Overall approval has dropped 10 points, largely driven by those holding back on strongly approving their actions (25pc versus 34pc previously).

In addition, strong disapproval has nearly doubled (rising from 7pc to 13pc) - reflecting a sense of exasperation.

Although we still heed Nphet's advice, it is clear that we want action sooner rather than later to change the status quo; we are more vociferous than ever that we want something different to the current approach. For the first time in this series of polls, we are in danger of wanting to truly break out - half believe that the lifting of restrictions is too slow, our highest reading by a country mile. Added to this, 22pc believe we are going at a pace that is far too slow - significantly up on what we have seen before.

But it is not all doom and gloom. Although we continue to be fearful for the economic future (57pc being pessimistic), we may be seeing some light at the end of the tunnel - albeit a flicker. More than one in four (26pc) feel the economy will recover quickly once the situation dies down - its highest level seen so far.

Also, we are increasingly turning our attention towards a more sociable existence, indicating a hankering towards our previous lives. There has been a notable increase in the proportion of those looking to go to bars and restaurants, buy big-ticket items and simply spending more in general.

Likewise, we are much more comfortable with the roll-out of the vaccines - just three in 10 express any reservations about the vaccinations, compared to nearly half the population in December.

We are more cognisant that we will be in this for the long haul. Even when the vaccines truly roll out, we are not yet prepared to take down our guard - we will still (for a large majority) maintain our new social etiquette/face-masking rules regardless. What a difference a year makes.

So, in terms of where we are compared with a year ago, we are frustrated and impatient. Yet there is still that sense of us being in this together for the right reasons.

But from the Government's point of view, these are indeed precarious times. They've gone back to the well in terms of drawing from public support on many occasions.

These are indeed understandably traumatic times for our policy makers, but there is a danger in them stacking all their chips on a summer revival. If they get it wrong, the public will be unforgiving. Let's hope, for all our sakes that they, and we, get that roll of the dice.

Paul Moran is an associate director with research company Kantar

Sunday Independent