Special advice for those living in Kildare - Friday 21 August 2020

These measures are in place to protect the vulnerable in Kildare, as well as to stop the spread of COVID-19.

These measures are effective immediately until Sunday night 6 September.

The situation will then be reviewed.

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Travel and transport

If you live in Kildare, you should only travel within your county.

The only exceptions to this are:

• to travel to work and home again. Work from home if you can
• to travel for work purposes
• to attend medical appointments and collect medicines or other health products
• for vital family reasons, such as providing care to children, elderly or vulnerable people. Do not travel for social family visits
• for farming reasons, such as food production or to care for animals
• for attending school
• to return home to Kildare
• to leave Kildare to return home

Where possible, do not share your car or other private vehicles with people from outside your household.

Do not use public transport unless it is absolutely necessary.

If you live outside Kildare, do not travel there. You can pass through Kildare to get to a county that does not have local measures in place.

Public health measures

You should continue do the things that will protect yourself and others. This is the best way of interrupting the transmission of the virus:

• wash your hands properly and often
• cover coughs and sneezes
• avoid touching your eyes, nose and mouth
• regularly clean and disinfect surfaces
• keep a safe distance of 2 metres from other people
• wear cloth face coverings when using public transport, in shops, shopping centres or any indoor setting where physical distancing cannot be maintained
• know and self-monitor for symptoms of COVID-19
• if you have symptoms, self-isolate and phone your GP straight away to get tested for COVID-19
• download the COVID Tracker app
• minimise your number of close contacts as much as possible
• keep a record of your daily contacts to help with contact tracing if you are diagnosed with COVID-19
• stay informed through trusted information sources and follow official public health advice

Economic activity and work

You should work from home unless absolutely necessary.

Social gatherings

Limit all indoor gatherings to a maximum of 6 people from no more than 3 households. Maintain physical distancing at all times.

Limit outdoor gatherings to a maximum of 15 people. Maintain physical distancing at all times.

Cafes, restaurants and bars that serve food

All cafes and restaurants, including bars that serve food, can only offer:

• takeaway food
• deliveries
• outdoor dining (maximum 15 people with strict physical distancing)

Venues and services

These will be closed:

• cinemas and theatres
• museums
• galleries
• betting shops
• casinos
• bingo halls
• gyms
• leisure centres
• swimming pools
• exercise and dance studios

These will remain open:

• education and childcare services
• outdoor playgrounds, play areas and parks
• all retail and personal services, including hairdressers barbers, with strict adherence to public health measures, including the wearing of face coverings
• libraries
• hotels but only for essential (non-social and non-tourist) reasons - existing guests can remain for the duration of their booking

Sport

No sporting events or matches can take place.

The only exceptions to this are for:

• non-contact training, but only outdoors with a maximum group of 15 people
• professional and elite sports and horse racing may continue behind closed doors
• inter-county training and fixtures, but only behind closed doors with a maximum group of 15 people

Churches and other places of worship

Churches and other places of worship can only remain open for private prayer. Services should be delivered online.

Funerals

A maximum of 25 people can attend a funeral service, burial or cremation ceremony. A maximum of 6 people can attend indoor events related to the funeral.

Visits to hospitals, nursing homes, long-term residential care facilities and prisons are suspended. The only exceptions to this are for compassionate circumstances. For example, end of life.

The impact of COVID-19 on society in general and especially those living in nursing homes has been considerable. We recognise that the proposed physical distancing measures and restrictions on visiting, while introduced for the overarching public health good and for the protection of people, including those most at risk, have an unprecedented impact on people’s daily lives, and recommending them is on foot of considered reflection of the potential risk at this time.

The serial testing programme in nursing homes has recommenced on a fortnightly basis, with a focus on ensuring that facilities in Kildare are tested early in the programme.

People living in Kildare who are over 70 years of age or medically vulnerable should take extra care to protect themselves.

This means you should:

• stay at home as much as possible
• limit interactions to a very small network for short periods of time, while following physical distancing guidelines
• not use public transport unless it is absolutely necessary
• if exercising outdoors, keep a 2 metre distance from others and wash your hands when you get home
• only shop during designated hours and wear a face covering. Shop online or ask family, friends and neighbours to leave shopping at your door and follow physical distancing guidelines

If these options are not available to you, you can contact your local authority who are working with local organisations to make sure that people have access to food, essential household supplies and medicines.

The government has announced a package of measures for businesses in Kildare which have been adversely impacted by renewed COVID-19 restrictions.

The measures include:

A topped-up Restart Grant

Kildare businesses will receive a further 20% top-up to the Restart Grant Plus, equivalent to a 40% uplift overall, bringing the new minimum grant to €5,600 and the maximum grant to €35,000.

Increased Enterprise Agency Assistance

The local enterprise office in Kildare will step up assistance to impacted businesses. One to one specialist expertise and mentoring will be provided to impacted businesses, helping them reassess their financial plans. A virtual ‘Sustaining Business’ open day will be held shortly.

Prioritised Applications

Applications from Kildare will continue to be prioritised for all existing schemes, including the Sustaining Enterprise Fund.

Marketing Grants

Marketing grants under the Technical Assistance for Micro Exporters (TAME) programme will be reinforced to help businesses to get their message out that they are open for business. Up to €2,500 is available. A publicity campaign will be run locally to ensure businesses are aware of all the funding options available to them.

The government has previously announced measures on 14 August to assist businesses in Kildare, Laois and Offaly.

There is an existing package in place to help businesses nationally reopen and stay open, through the July Stimulus.

• Restart Plus grant support for B&Bs is being administered by Fáilte Ireland
• extension of the Wage Subsidy Scheme to the end of March 2021, supporting viable businesses and jobs, including new hires
• provision of more and cheaper loan finance through Microfinance Ireland and the Credit Guarantee Scheme
• provision of funding to help businesses and get ready for Brexit
• exploiting opportunities in areas like Life Sciences and investing in decarbonisation and digitalisation
• six-month reduction in the VAT, going down from 23% to 21%
• provision of more funding for the IDA to promote Ireland as a place for foreign direct investment

There will also be a six-month commercial rates holiday for the vast majority of businesses.