Briefing on the government's response to COVID-19 - Thursday 11 June 2020

Delivered by Elizabeth Canavan, Assistant Secretary General, Department of the Taoiseach

Good Morning,

I would like to start once again, by thanking everyone for continuing to be cautious and following the public health guidance.

As you all know at this stage, our ability to proceed through the plan for opening of our society and business is dependent on everyone continuing to practice the measures we are all now very familiar with:

• wash your hands regularly and thoroughly
• maintain social distancing –as we begin to re-enter the homes or our friends and loved ones we cannot overlook the importance of the two metre rule, especially where we are allowed to once again visit those who are over 70 or medically vulnerable
• practise good cough and sneeze etiquette
• if you begin to display symptoms you need to self-isolate

Inevitably, as we move around more we meet more people and that can already be seen in the Health Service Executive data on the increase in the number of contacts identified by people diagnosed with COVID-19. That is why we are continuing to emphasise the really important public health guidance and we are asking you to stay safe and stay local.

Phase 2 has seen a welcome relaxation of many of the restrictions including the reopening of retail outlets.

You are being asked to stay within your own county or within 20 kilometres if you are crossing county lines. Those who can work from home are asked to continue to do so.

If you have to travel to work or to shop we are asking that you walk or cycle if you can, only use public transport if you absolutely need to do so. Public transport capacity is limited due to social distancing requirements and we want to ensure essential workers who need to use public transport can get to work.

If you are over 70 or medically vulnerable, you know your own situation best, but it is still advisable to stay home as much as you can. Please maintain social distancing with visitors and take advantage of the times specially allotted for shopping.

While we try to get back to “normal” we have to keep reminding ourselves that COVID-19 is still with us and we all need to continue to be careful.

I also want to highlight that since before the arrival of COVID-19 in Ireland, our health service has been operating under new and often extraordinary circumstances to prepare for the pandemic. Almost all health services were reorganised and refocused in response to the threat of COVID-19.

To achieve this, some services, those that were either not essential, where demand was reduced, or that were not possible to deliver safely, were curtailed.

Since 18 May, this process is starting to be reversed.

Services that may have been curtailed such as non-urgent or planned procedures, outpatient consultations, some primary care and home support services are now being reintroduced. That reintroduction is being carried with the protection of staff and patients in mind.

We can see a return to non COVID-19 levels of services in emergency departments, and in hospitals overall and we want to see that return continue.

If people have queries about their care, they can contact their care team or their GP for information.

Over 60,000 employers are now registered with Revenue for the Temporary Wage Subsidy Scheme.

Over 527,300 employees have now received at least one payment under the scheme. This does not include additional employees who may receive a subsidy as a result of payments generated today.

Revenue has generated further payments to employers under the scheme of €26 million today. These payments will be in the bank accounts of the majority of the respective employers tomorrow (12 June).

The cumulative value of payments made to employers under the scheme is €1.48 billion.

Revenue has confirmed that changes to the Temporary Wage Subsidy Scheme are now in place to accommodate employees who have returned or are due to return to work following a period of maternity leave, adoptive leave or related unpaid leave.

These changes also apply to employees who were not on their employer’s payroll on 29 February 2020 who were on a period of paternity, parental or related unpaid leave or in receipt of Health and Safety Benefit, Parent’s Benefit or Illness Benefit.

Employers who wish to access the scheme on behalf of employees covered by these changes can do so by completing a short form available for download via Revenue’s Online Service.

In addition, I want to clarify that the employers of workers who have been in receipt of the Pandemic Unemployment Payment, may be eligible for the Temporary Wage Subsidy Scheme in respect of that employee if they have been rehired. The employee needs to cease their PUP claim and the employer can provide relevant information to Revenue.

Earlier this week, 515,700 people who were unemployed last week received their weekly payment of €350 under the COVID-19 Pandemic Unemployment Payment scheme.

This is a reduction of approximately 27,400 on the number of people paid at the same point last week. The overall value of the weekly payment is in the region of €180.5 million.

Since the beginning of phase 1 of the government’s Item was unpublished or removed 82,500 employees are now back in work.

If you are returning to work, you should close your claim on the day you return.

You can do so here.

Since the onset of the pandemic, the government has introduced a raft of measures aimed at supporting business during this crisis.

The take up of these schemes continues to be strong. Schemes on offer include the Trading Online Voucher Scheme, Microfinance Ireland Loan and the Strategic Banking Corporation Working Capital Scheme of which 372 loans have been approved totalling €45.67 million.

Microfinance Ireland have approved 456 applications with a value of over €12 million.

The Trading Online Voucher Scheme has been adjusted and businesses that have previously received and implemented a voucher, can now apply for a second through their Local Enterprise Office. To date 1,605 applications have been approved to a value of €3.78 million.

Over 8,000 Business Continuity Vouchers have also been approved by the Local Enterprise Offices.

For more information on the different supports available for businesses click here.

In recognition of the important role childcare will play in reopening the economy a major funding package was announced yesterday to facilitate the reopening of childcare facilities from 29 June.

This funding package recognises that a reduced number of children are likely to attend Early Learning and Childcare services in the initial weeks of reopening. This necessitates a tailored model, which will allow providers to operate with less parental income. It will also ensure that parents will not have to pay higher fees than they did pre COVID-19.

There is clear public health guidance in place around reopening childcare to ensure that happens as safely as possible and this funding will support that guidance and allow parents across the country who require childcare to get back to work.

The Department for Children and Youth Affairs is strongly encouraging parents and service providers to make contact with each other so that the level of demand and supply for places from 29 June onwards can be known.

The COVID-19 pandemic has had a serious impact on the Irish tourism and hospitality industry. At the moment every effort is being made to ensure that this industry is ready to resume for domestic visitors by the end of this month.

To support this effort Fáilte Ireland this week published guidance which they created in collaboration with industry groups, to assist with the safe reopening of the tourism and hospitality sectors. The guidance is tailored to a number of areas in the sector with specific advice for hotels, caravans and camping businesses, restaurants and many others.

The guidelines offer detailed advice to businesses to ensure that visitors can be confident that all of the vital public health advice and protocols are being implemented. These guidelines will be updated regularly in line with public health advice as and when it evolves.

This is a very welcome development as we know everyone in the hospitality sector is keen to get back to work in what would normally be the height of the season and I’m sure that many of us are looking forward to taking a well-deserved break, a ‘staycation’ to experience some of Ireland’s many domestic attractions.

While reopening is still a couple of weeks away, providing the guidance allows businesses to plan and prepare for reopening with greater confidence and to assure the public that tailored public health advice is informing service provision.

This week saw the announcement of a further investment of €1.4 million in 11 projects under the research and innovation response to the COVID-19 pandemic. This investment builds on previous funding and complements the existing research work underway in higher education institutions across the country.

The selected projects will look at immediate priorities to assist us with the challenges we face as we seek to reopen our society and economy, and get the country running again. Projects include remote blood-pressure monitoring in pregnancy, development of tests for antibodies, addressing supply chain challenges and computer modelling the impact of COVID-19.

Research and innovation conducted in a partnership between our higher education institutions, health services and industry are one of the ways in which we are devising solutions to the challenges presented by COVID-19.

The full range of projects being funded is available here.

Shopping centres will be allowed to reopen from the coming Monday 15 June. New guidelines have been published by the National Standards Authority of Ireland to enable shopping centres to reopen safely following closure due to COVID-19 restrictions.

The COVID-19 Shopping Centre Recovery and Protection Guide is essentially a ‘How to’ for Shopping Centres to help them put in place necessary measures, which will enable them to operate safely for workers and for the public from Monday.

You’ll notice this in your shopping centre where you will see new signage, systems for queuing, perhaps restrictions on overall numbers and marked out routes through the centre.

We know that shopping, in general, is going to be a different experience but please bear in mind the importance of these measures for keeping everyone safe and co-operate with staff who are working to keep you safe.

You can find a link to the COVID-19 Shopping Centre Recovery and Protection Guide on here.

The Community Call Fora, run by the local authorities also continues.

This week so far, they have received over 1,000 calls nationally. They made approximately 280 follow-up calls to people who have contacted them.

Nationally, since 31 March, the Community Call Fora have received almost 47,500 calls and have made approximately 18,700 follow-up calls. Remember, you can find your local Community Call helpline number here.

You can also contact ALONE on 0818 222 024 if you need some help or even a friendly ear.

Phase 2 of the Roadmap has seen a lifting of some of the restrictions on outdoor activity. Sport Ireland this week released a set of guidelines to support and assist everyone to Stay Local, Stay Apart and Stay Safe in the Outdoors.

Outdoor spaces and tourism sites including car parks, beaches and trails are now open and groups of up to 15 people who are not from the same household can meet outdoors for organised activities such as sports.

The Stay Local, Stay Apart and Stay Safe in the Outdoors Guide is a handy reminder of the most important pieces of advice for these scenarios, such as maintaining physical distancing and washing your hands when you return indoors. It also provides links to up to date advice about various outdoor amenities. It’s available from gov.ie.

This Saturday 13 June marks Cruinniú na nÓg 2020, Ireland’s national day of free creative activities for children and young people under the age of 18, and I want to echo the calls that have already issued for young people across the country to get online, get involved and get creative for Cruinniú.

Naturally Cruinniú na nÓg 2020 will be different due to COVID-19 but the response from children and families has been enormous. To date over 460 events have been confirmed, with full details available on gov.ie. These range from nationwide calls to action such asCéilí in the Kitchen and Let’s Go Fly A Kite, to poetry events for the under 4s.

It has always been important to foster the creative spirit in young people but in the current times, we have seen the vital role of creativity and innovation in finding ways to adapt to new circumstances and we’re seeing with fresh eyes the continued importance of events like Cruinniu na nÓg.

Yesterday updated Guidance was published for Youth Organisations on resuming full services in line with our Roadmap.

This means that youth services can now resume face to face group work with up to 4 young people indoors and up to 12 young people outdoors. From phase 3 onwards, indoor group work can take place with up to 12 young people. This approach aligns with school age childcare provision which can be indoors or outdoors for up to 12 children from phase 3 onwards.

The National Youth Council of Ireland, in partnership with Government, has also produced online induction training for staff and volunteers to support the phased resumption of full services. Since the very beginning of the COVID-19 crisis, youth services have been working to maintain supports, particularly to vulnerable young people most in need.

We will continue to work with sector representatives and colleagues on issues such as access to facilities and the further contribution of the youth sector to the overall government wellbeing initiative as it relates to young people.

Yesterday’s data released by the CSO indicated that many young people are experiencing heightened levels of anxiety, isolation, loneliness and depression at the present time. There is an opportunity for the youth sector to play a key role over the summer in terms of services and programmes that offer purpose, structure, social connectedness, and enhanced health and wellbeing, as well as overall social and emotional development for young people.

We want to remind everyone that Tusla’s child protection and welfare teams are still working to keep children as safe as possible in every community around the country. In earlier phases of COVID-19 indications were that referrals were down in many areas compared to normal activity, however, recently we are starting to see a reversal of that trend.

We continue to encourage anyone with a concern about the wellbeing or safety of a child to contact the local duty social work office where the child lives. Contact details can be found on the Tusla website, tusla.ie.

We are aware of people’s questions and concerns around the use of face coverings. The National Public Health Emergency Team (NPHET) meets today and will review World Health Organization Guidance on face coverings. They will also consider communications regarding the appropriate use of face coverings in community settings.

We want to highlight that driving licences and learner permits that expired or are due to expire between 1 March and 30 June 2020 have been extended for 4 months.

This means that, for example, if the expiry date on your driving licence is 20 June, it has now been extended until 20 October 2020. Your driving record has now been changed to reflect this new expiry date. Remember also that a driving licence or learner permit can only be renewed within 3 months of the expiry date.

The easing of restrictions will lead to busier roads. A new road safety campaign was launched this week urging road users to be extra cautious as the roads get busier.

The campaign ‘We’re on the road back. Make it a safer one’, makes the case that as we adjust to a new normal, we can choose a new normal for our roads too – making them a safer place for everyone.

Drivers are being urged to slow down, avoid distractions while driving and to take care when passing pedestrians and cyclists. Pedestrians are reminded to use the footpath and - if there is none - to walk on the right-hand side of the road, facing oncoming traffic.

In addition, we want to remind you that if you’re vehicle hasn’t been driven for some time, you should make sure it’s roadworthy by undertaking some basic maintenance checks in advance of setting off.

In recent weeks we have all demonstrated that we can prioritise public health – road safety is a public health issue too so it’s important to keep a focus on keeping the roads safer.

As I have mentioned here before, we would like to reassure anyone experiencing domestic abuse that local and national helplines and services are still available despite COVID-19.

We want to reassure victims that domestic abuse incidents, continue to receive the highest priority response from An Gardaí Síochána through Operation Faoiseamh. Domestic Violence applications will continue to be given priority by the District Courts. Resources will continue to be allocated towards crimes against the vulnerable.

No matter what your circumstances, no matter what the context, domestic abuse and sexual violence are criminal acts which will not be tolerated. We would encourage anyone in imminent danger to call An Garda Siochana on 999/112.

More information to help victims find frontline services in their area is available on a dedicated website stillhere.ie. The website includes an interactive map to help women and men find details of services close to them and we would encourage anyone who is feeling isolated or trapped to reach out for help.

Thank you for all you are doing. Every effort you are making is contributing to the progress we are making in reopening society and the economy.