Publication
Briefing on the government's response to COVID-19 - Thursday 6 August 2020
From Department of the Taoiseach
Published on
Last updated on
From Department of the Taoiseach
Published on
Last updated on
Delivered by Elizabeth Canavan, Assistant Secretary General, Department of the Taoiseach
Good morning everyone,
As you know by now, following Tuesday’s Cabinet meeting it was decided that we will be continuing with the current restrictions that are in place until our progress in containing the virus is once again reviewed in three weeks’ time.
This means that pubs, bars and nightclubs will remain closed and restrictions on numbers attending indoor and outdoor gatherings will remain the same. Those restaurants and bars serving food that operated in Phase 3 can remain open, however, they must operate in strict compliance with the current regulations and they will be asked to close no later than 11pm although food takeaway and delivery can continue.
The decision was not taken lightly. We are aware that many people will be disappointed by the decision not to proceed to Phase Four just yet, and many businesses that have been badly impacted this year will continue to struggle.
As you remember, the Roadmap set out a step-wise incremental approach to reopening. We signalled that at every stage, we would have to see how the disease was behaving as we continue to introduce additional “risks” associated with reopening. The more we open up, the more opportunity for the disease to spread. We knew that there would likely be some increase in the numbers. However, in the last week or so things have shifted away from the trajectory we were on.
We have had:
So, we are staying on “pause”.
At the moment, we are doing well in terms of testing, tracking and tracing these clusters. However, as the number of clusters increases there is a much increased chance that the disease will begin to “seed” more generally in the community again. This is the biggest risk. Community transmission means, we don’t know where disease is coming from and we cannot clamp down on the source of infection. It is the biggest risk for older people and those with underlying health conditions in our communities, in healthcare and other long-term care settings who are much more vulnerable to this disease.
Now is just not the time for any of us to relax our efforts, now is the time to Hold Firm.
The most important thing we can do at this time is continue to defend ourselves, our loved ones and our communities as best we can against COVID-19.
We are at a very delicate position in terms of the virus. Our progress continues to depend on our collective individual actions.
We can stall this latest trend in the virus provided that everyone plays their part by following the vital public health guidance which has stayed consistent:
The Irish people have already shown great willingness to adapt to the wearing of face coverings as a proven additional safety measure against the virus and we’re confident that they will embrace this guidance with the same commitment.
It is also vitally important that you know the symptoms of COVID-19. If you are feeling unwell, if you have a high temperature, if you have a cough of any description, if you feel short of breath or if you feel that you have had a change in your taste or your smell you need to do two things.
Firstly, you need to self-isolate immediately, you can still spread the virus without a formal diagnosis, you need to ensure that you are not putting other people at risk.
Secondly, you need to call your GP straight away so that they can arrange testing for you. Remember, if you think you might have COVID and you need to call your GP these COVID -19 related consultations and all referrals for a test are covered by the HSE and so are free. The test is also free. So please don’t hesitate.
Contact tracing continues to be a key element of our strategy in terms of containing the virus and the COVID Tracker app is one of the key tools that will help us to do that. The app ensures that people who use it can be notified quickly and anonymously if they come into close contact with someone who has tested positive for COVID-19.
Last week Ireland achieved a world first in our all-island approach to contact tracing apps. The Irish COVID Tracker app will now be compatible with the Northern Ireland contact tracing app ensuring that the two systems can talk to each other and notify users of any COVID-19 exposure regardless of which app they’re using.
Public health on this island is an all-island effort and now people can rest assured that their COVID Tracker app will continue to work anywhere on the island of Ireland.
Since the day of its launch we have seen great uptake of the COVID Tracker app with over 1.5 million downloads to date. If you have not yet downloaded the app we would urge you to do so. This is just one simple way in which you can play your part and contribute to the overall effort against the virus.
In particular, we need to do our best to ensure that our children and young people can return to school in September following months without the vital hands on learning, stability, and socialisation that only the school environment can offer.
Please bear with us. We are at a critical stage and what you do is as important as ever – no one part of the system can manage this disease on its own.
Over 69,470 employers are registered with Revenue for the Temporary Wage Subsidy Scheme.
An estimated 390,000 employees are currently being supported by the scheme having received a subsidy in their most recent pay period.
Today (6 August), Revenue has generated further payments to employers under the scheme of €28.8 million. The cumulative value of payments made to employers under the scheme is now €2.4 billion.
This week, approx. 274,600 people who were unemployed last week received their weekly payment under the COVID-19 Pandemic Unemployment Payment scheme.
The overall value of the weekly payment is in the region of €85.2 million.
In total, over €3 billion has been paid up to and including 4 August.
Last week, approx. 8,300 people in receipt of the Pandemic Unemployment Payment closed their claim because they were returning to work. Since the start of the reopening, approx. 280,600 people have closed their claim as they have returned to work.
If you are returning to work, you should close your claim on the day of your return. To close your unemployment claim, you should log on to www.mywelfare.ie click on the link for the COVID-19 Pandemic Unemployment Payment and follow the instructions.
Businesses continue to engage with government departments and agencies in accessing the range of supports available to support them during the pandemic.
Applications for the Restart Grant are at 45,372 with 35,544 of these approved, resulting in over €146.7 million in grant assistance being paid to small businesses.
Applications for the Trading Online Voucher Scheme, operated through the Local Enterprise Office network, have now reached 8,388 applications, with 5,607 approvals made to a value of €13.4 million.
It was agreed this week that the suspension of redundancy measures relating to temporary lay-off as a result of COVID-19 would be extended until 17 September. The suspension of these measures was introduced in March to deal with the COVID-19 emergency by ensuring that businesses would be able to maintain a link with staff that were temporarily laid off to prevent permanent job losses. The measure also ensured that businesses already badly impacted by the pandemic would not be overburdened with debt in relation to redundancies.
The decision to extend the suspension until September will help to allow businesses to recover and reopen as soon as it is possible for them to do so.
The extension of the duration of the COVID-19 Enhanced Illness Benefit until 31 March 2021 was also approved this week. This measure was extended in order to reassure workers who contract COVID-19 or who are medically certified by their doctor or the HSE to self-isolate, that financial assistance is will continue to be available to them in the form of an enhanced Illness Benefit payment.
Last week saw a €500 million expansion to the Future Growth Loan Scheme, the government’s scheme to support SMEs, farmers and fishing. The additional funding will be provided by the European Investment Group. It will facilitate significant injections of capital for businesses looking to develop strategic responses to the changing business conditions brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic as well as by Brexit.
Loans of between €25,000 to €3 million are available at competitive rates for terms between 7 and 10 years. Further information about the Future Loan Growth Scheme and where to apply is available here.
The Community Call Fora, run by the local authorities, are still operating.
Last week, they received approximately 240 calls nationally, and made approximately 100 follow-up calls to people who have contacted them.
That’s over 53,000 calls and 21,000 follow-up calls since 31 March.
Helplines operate from 9am to 5pm seven days a week and if you need help, you can find your local helpline number on gov.ie here.
Earlier this week the details of the €2.8 million in funding approvals to help rural towns and villages to adapt to the COVID-19 pandemic were announced. The funding will benefit 106 towns and villages throughout every county in Ireland.
This first tranche of funding under the enhanced Town and Village Renewal Scheme recognises the need to support rural businesses and communities to rebuild in response to COVID-19. The funding will target measures that allow people to shop, work and socialise in safe ways.
Practical examples for which the funding will be used include:
This is the first of several rounds of funding to be announced in the coming weeks. It is likely that 500 towns and villages across the country will be supported in some way.
Full details of the projects supported by this funding are available on gov.ie here.
A €2.5 million Small Scale Capital Works programme has been put in place to assist public libraries across the country to adapt to COVID-19. Local Authorities will be providing additional funding in that effort to the value of €280,000.
Many libraries have had to make changes to how they operate in light of COVID-19. This funding will allow libraries to adapt to meet social distancing requirements and to provide additional remote working facilities.
There are over 300 libraries across Ireland and in each town and village they sit at the heart of communities. This investment will help transform libraries all over the country into modern and well equipped facilities that will continue to play an important role in community activity for years to come.
In June this year €25 million funding was made available in extra supports for Arts and Culture sector which was and continues to be very badly impacted by COVID-19. A further €31 million euro was also invested into the sector under the Jobs stimulus package. A number of measures were announced yesterday which will see this funding directed towards helping the Arts and Culture sector recover from the COVID-19 emergency.
Specific measures included:
Further information on the various supports available to the Arts and Culture Sector are available here.
With schools reopening at the end of the month, many children will be making the big leap from preschool to primary school.
This can be a daunting experience at the best of times for many young children and particularly this year due to the COVID-19 emergency, many parents or guardians might be anxious for their child.
With this in mind, the National Educational Psychological Service of the Department of Education has released a podcast offering tips and guidance on how to make this transition as seamless as possible for the child.
This podcast can be found on the Department of Education’s Twitter page @Education_Ire.
It is still advised that the safest thing people can do at the moment is to stay at home. We are asking Irish people to holiday at home this year and support our domestic tourism industry which has been badly impacted by COVID-19. For those who are required to travel overseas, we are asking that you restrict your movements for a two week period once you return home. That is the public health advice unless you are travelling from one of a small selection of Green List countries.
As I mentioned earlier COVID-19 is still spreading across the world. Many countries which had previously seen the virus under control are now once again reporting an increase in cases. And as I said, in Ireland our position with the virus is a very delicate balance. It is important that we try to avoid the risk of importing the virus from other countries.
For that reason, a number of countries which were citing an increase in cases of COVID-19 were removed from the Green List of Locations this week.
As such anyone arriving into Ireland from the following overseas locations will not have to restrict their movements:
As I mentioned previously COVID-19 Illness Benefit is available to any person employed and self-employed who is diagnosed with COVID-19, or who has been advised that they are a probable source of infection of COVID-19 and is self-isolating. As of this week that will also include workers who live in Direct Provision. This will ensure that these workers can follow the relevant health advice in relation to COVID-19 with the same confidence that there are financial supports in place to assist them.
In addition with effect from this week the Pandemic Unemployment Payment is available to people living in Direct Provision centres as well as applicants for International Protection who live in the community outside the Direct Provision system.
It is payable wherever the person meets the conditions of the scheme which are:
The decision to extend these benefits to applicants for International Protection will not only allow these individuals to prioritise the health and safety of themselves and their communities but will provide support to those who have lost out on income due to the impact of COVID-19.
As we face into another summer weekend I’m sure many of us will be out and about hopefully enjoying the fine weather. In Ireland we’re lucky to have beautiful parks, forests, beaches and scenic locations right across the country and we’re happy to see people enjoy these natural resources in a responsible way and in line with public health advice.
However, there has been a notable increase in littering throughout the country in the last number of weeks.
This week saw the launch of a Government of Ireland campaign to tackle a growing littering issue throughout the country in partnership with Leave No Trace Ireland. So I want to take this opportunity to encourage everyone to be responsible in their outings and make an effort to keep our natural environment litter-free, and remember: if you love a place, leave no trace.