Coronavirus resources issue will rumble on after lockdown

A shipment of 5.5 million pieces of PPE was delivered to Northern Ireland last month

Inevitably much of our current discussion about easing the lockdown is dominated by the tension between health and the economy.

How long do we need to stay in a more severe form of lockdown in order to protect lives?

If we don't ease our restrictions, how much of an economy will we have left to revive?

In the midst of this debate, though, are we devoting enough attention to the medium term, in which health will remain inseparable from economics and both depend on defeating the pandemic?

During World War Two, it was pretty clear the overriding UK national interest was in defeating the Axis powers, and a command economy was adopted.

Many sectors of society, be they the "Bevin boys" toiling down the coalmines or the female employees put to work in ammunition factories, were all directed to strive towards the same end.

A problem - but also 'an opportunity'?

The NHS has withstood the first wave of the Covid-19 attack, but the struggle against the virus still needs to be waged on a number of fronts.

Our contact tracers will need to be put to work clamping down on any further outbreaks.

Our scientists will need to spend long hours searching for vaccines and cures.

And our manufacturers will be required to provide personal protective equipment (PPE), not just for our hospitals, but also for our care homes, workplaces and, potentially, schools and colleges.

The Conservative chairman of the Northern Ireland Affairs Committee, Simon Hoare, pointed out in the Commons this week that the need for PPE is not just a major problem, but also an opportunity.

He argued that the pandemic has "underscored the fragility of international supply chains, certainly with regards to PPE, when international demand is very high".

County Tyrone sportswear firm O’Neills has been making protective clothing for medical workers

He wants the Northern Ireland Office to discuss with their colleagues in government "the opportunity to grow this important area of our economy, thereby creating future jobs and enabling us to produce enough PPE in this country with a UK badge".

Responding, the NIO Minister Robin Walker paid tribute to Northern Ireland firms involved in producing PPE, including the Strabane sportswear company O'Neills, which has turned its production lines over to making hospital scrubs, and Bangor-based Denroy Plastics, which has been manufacturing protective visors.

The scale of the likely continuing demand in this sector was underlined on Friday when the UK government confirmed an order for 70 million face masks, which will create 450 jobs in Scotland.

Whilst the need for such gear will hopefully diminish one day, future governments will no doubt be reluctant to ever let the stockpiles get as low as they were when this pandemic struck.

On a wider level, recent events might challenge the old characterisation of health as a sector that simply sucks up any funds you throw at it, in contrast to business as the sector that generates all the cash.

There will be enormous problems in the years to come finding the resources needed to keep the health service and the rest of the public sector functioning.

Vows made to treat our carers more fairly will be put to the test.

However, if the last few months have emphasised anything, surely it's that the public's health and a nation's wealth are mutually dependent and neglecting either can lead to catastrophe.

Get your questions in

On Monday's Inside Politics Q&A we shall be zooming off to Lagan Valley, where I shall talk to the DUP's Paul Givan, the Ulster Unionist Robbie Butler, the SDLP's Pat Catney and the former Alliance and now independent MLA Trevor Lunn.

Any questions you have for our panel, whether about Lagan Valley or the general political situation, please forward to [e-mail] or send to us via Twitter using our hashtag #bbcip.