Briefing on the government's response to COVID-19 - Tuesday 5 May 2020

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

Good Morning.

After another long weekend spent so differently than we are used to, I want to thank everyone for their patience and for adhering to the restrictions that are in place to slow the spread of COVID-19. These efforts are difficult and involve real sacrifice, but they are working.

As you know, on Friday, the government published a Roadmap for Reopening Society and Business which sets out the plan to ease the COVID-19 restrictions and reopen Ireland’s economy and society in a phased manner. You can read it at Item was unpublished or removed

The Roadmap will start from 18 May, and sets out five stages for unlocking restrictions, at three-week intervals. It is a flexible framework based on an assessment of risk. As we ease restrictions, we will need to keep monitoring the situation.

The framework sets out how we can keep the level of transmission as low as possible while balancing continuing restrictions proportionately with the positive social and economic benefits which will be brought about by lifting restrictions.

In the meantime, as of today, it is possible to travel within 5 kilometres of your home for the purposes of exercise, accompanied only by members of your own household and observing social distancing at all times.

For those who are cocooning, the advice has been to stay at home because we know some groups are more susceptible to the disease. However, for many of you that is very frustrating. From today, there is new advice about how to go outside for exercise and fresh air safely – the key message is to avoid all contact with other people, maintain a ‘no touch’ policy and wash your hands on returning home. It is still recommended that people cocooning avoid shops – if you need assistance in this regard there are plenty of local supports including the local community call phone number – all of these details are here.

You can find all of the details of the roadmap Item was unpublished or removed and some useful guides have been published on the Merrion Street social media channels and in newspapers and other media - I would urge everyone to read these and familiarise themselves with the stages of the plan.

We are very aware how difficult the current restrictions are for people and families. There are a number of supports available on gov.ie/together and yourmentalhealth.ie so please use these facilities and contact your GP if you are very stressed.

The roadmap is a gradual, stepwise plan toward reopening. Our ability to open up the economy and our society will be entirely dependent on our success in slowing the virus.

Therefore, I want to remind everyone, as I usually do, of the vital public health advice that is as important as ever in helping to slow the spread of the virus:

• wash hands regularly and thoroughly
• use good cough and sneeze etiquette
• observe social distancing measures

On Saturday, the government announced a series of additional measures worth more than €6 billion to further support small, medium and larger business that are negatively impacted by COVID-19. They aim to help our businesses to restart, reconnect and rehire staff who have been laid off or furloughed.

Those measures are:

• a €10,000 restart grant for micro and small businesses based on a rates/waiver rebate from 2019
• a three-month commercial rates waiver for impacted businesses
• a €2 billion Pandemic Stabilisation and Recovery Fund within the Ireland Strategic Investment Fund (ISIF), which will make capital available to medium and large enterprises on commercial terms
• a €2 billion COVID-19 Credit Guarantee Scheme to support lending to Small and Medium Enterprises for terms ranging from 3 months to 6 years, which will be below market interest rates
• the ‘warehousing’ of tax liabilities for a period of twelve months after recommencement of trading during which time there will be no debt enforcement action taken by Revenue and no interest charge accruing in respect of the warehoused debt
• a commitment to local authorities to make up the rates shortfall, so that local authorities can continue provide full services to the public

In addition, the Banking and Payments Federation of Ireland has announced an extension of payment breaks for businesses and households to 6 months for those requiring assistance which is being provided to bank and non-bank customers impacted by COVID-19. It is essential that customers fully engage with their lender to avail of these extensions.

Almost 52,100 employers are now registered with Revenue for the Temporary Wage Subsidy Scheme.

Over 427,400 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.

Between yesterday (4 May) and today (5 May) Revenue generated payments to employers under the scheme of €68.7 million.

These are the final payments made under the ‘transitional phase’ of the scheme whereby eligible employers were reimbursed a maximum subsidy of €410 in respect of each eligible employee, regardless of the employee’s income.

These are the first payments under the ‘operational phase’ of the scheme whereby eligible employers are reimbursed a subsidy based on the average Revenue net weekly pay and Gross Pay submitted on payroll for each eligible employee.

The payments generated both yesterday and today will be in the bank accounts of the majority of the respective employers tomorrow (6 May).

These transactions will be processed separately so that eligible employers can distinguish the ‘transitional phase’ payment from the ‘operational phase’ payment.

The cumulative value of payments made to employers under the scheme is €785 million.

A Working Paper on the initial impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on Ireland’s labour market has been published.

The outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, and the essential public health measures to contain the spread of the virus, saw the largest monthly increase in the unemployment rate in the history of the State.

The most severely impacted sectors are Tourism, Hospitality and Food Services; Retail; and Construction.

This research will form part of the work of planning for getting people back to work as quickly as possible as our economy and society reopens.

Today, approximately 598,000 people will receive their weekly payment of €350 under the COVID-19 Pandemic Unemployment Payment Scheme.

This is the smallest week on week increase in the number of payments (approximately 7,000) since this scheme commenced in mid-March.

The value of the weekly payment is in the region of €209 million.

Approximately 73,000 people have contacted the Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection in order to close their claim. It is possible to do so by accessing the close claim option.

The Community Call Fora are operating around the country to assist those who are playing their part by self-isolating or cocooning. If you are in need it is important to remember that they are there to support you with the collection and delivery of groceries and medical supplies, to lend a hand or just to lend a friendly ear. They are there for you.

Yesterday, the Community Call Fora received 300 calls nationally and 100 follow-up calls were made to people who contacted the helpline.

Nationally, since 31 March, the Community Call Fora have received over 29,000 calls and have made approximately 12,600 follow-up calls.

If you need help or as important, if you know someone who might need help, or if you want to volunteer to give help please contact your local forum.

You can find your local helpline number on here.

The Fora helplines are partnering with ALONE, the national charity for older people.

Yesterday, ALONE’s national helpline received approximately 100 calls. Last week, it received over 1,700 calls in total and delivered over 200 practical supports. If someone needs information, reassurance, or just to talk they can call ALONE’s national phone line on 0818 222 024. They can also contact ALONE if they are experiencing difficulties with physical and mental health, finance, loneliness and other challenges.

A global audience of over 320,000 has tuned in to the first 50 performances of Ireland Performs, the new initiative from Culture Ireland and Facebook to promote and support Irish-based artists and performers during the COVID-19 emergency.

Over 50 artists have performed from all kinds of inventive places including a beach, polytunnel, van and shed.

Culture Ireland is closing the application scheme for Ireland Performs today. There was a high level of interest by artists, a large volume of applications were received and many are still in the process of consideration.

In addition, a new initiative from the Heritage Council and National Museum of Ireland is now open. It invites you to share your discoveries and insights about the hidden heritage of your locality.

Due to COVID-19 we have all become much more familiar with our immediate locality. This can help us to see things in a new light by noticing what we may have overlooked before.

Heritage is a very broad term. It includes archaeology and architecture like ancient monuments, old graveyards or historic buildings. It can be old documents, photographs or letters of historic value. It includes natural heritage like flora and fauna, rivers, lakes or mountains. It also includes local names for fields, music and songs, poems and storytelling, crafts and traditions, sports and leisure.

'Know Your 5K' is a new initiative from the Heritage Council and National Museum of Ireland which provides an opportunity to share discoveries about our hidden heritage. The project helps the public to use a wealth of online resources to find out more about the story of their locality.

COVID-19 impacts hugely on how we say farewell to our loved ones. Some of the ceremonies, traditions and rituals that are fundamental to the grieving process in Ireland are no longer available to us and we have had to find new ways of doing things.

It has been necessary to limit attendance at funerals to ten people, with social distancing of at least two metres. For those people who cannot attend, we would encourage you to connect via the various communications channels that are available to us.

This restriction on numbers is hard but we urge people to please adhere to it in order to protect all those involved from COVID-19 - mourners, funeral directors, the religious and others who officiate at services and other workers.

A useful Guide for the Bereaved, which addresses some of the issues around funerals at this time, can be found on here.

As you know, last week, alternative arrangements for Junior Cert were announced, which I will recap for you.

The work and achievement of third year Junior Cycle students will be recognised with a state certificate from the Department of Education and Skills.

As soon as possible after the end of the current school year, students will receive a written school report on their learning achievements in each subject, short course and/or priority learning unit.

Schools are also being given autonomy to decide whether to run school-based assessments and what form they take (Options include school-designed examinations, tasks, projects, assignments, essay style questions, presentations, or other tasks agreed at a local level).

Guidance for schools on reporting to students and parents will be published by the Department of Education and Skills. This guidance will be developed with the advice of the advisory group of stakeholders.

The State Examinations Commission is also being asked to put in place specific arrangements for adult learners to give them an opportunity to take final Junior Cycle examinations for which they are entered in autumn 2020.

These arrangements are being made in light of the exceptional circumstances presented by the COVID-19 pandemic.

The decision gives students and their families more clarity and certainty. It also gives schools freedom to decide how best to assess the progress of students after three years of hard work and learning.

I also want to highlight that Cruinniú na nÓg 2020 will be launched today. Cruinniú na nÓg is Ireland’s national day of free creative activities for children and young people, under the government’s #InThisTogether campaign, which supports everyone to stay connected, stay active and look after physical and mental wellbeing.

It will take place on Saturday 13 June 2020, in association with local authorities and RTE.

In light of the public health restrictions currently in place, we are encouraging children and young people to start now on preparing their creative and cultural ideas in their own homes and gardens for Saturday 13 June.

For more information, see here.

Yesterday, the Taoiseach announced that Ireland has pledged €18 million as part of global efforts to defeat the coronavirus. This funding is in support of GAVI, the Vaccine Alliance, for use between 2021 and 2025 and will support GAVI’s important work in procuring vaccines and distributing them to the world’s poorest and most vulnerable countries, including a vaccine for COVID-19 when it becomes available.

This brings the total that Ireland has already committed to combat COVID-19 to €78 million. This will support the vital work of multilateral institutions including the World Health Organisation, UNICEF and the UN Central Emergency Response Fund, and will assist NGOs and bilateral partners, including Tanzania, Malawi, Uganda and Ethiopia.

Last Wednesday, the government announced details of the first 26 projects that will receive €5 million funding under the newly-established national, coordinated research and innovation response to the COVID-19 pandemic, complementing the ongoing research work already underway in higher education institutions.

Projects will address key areas such as frontline healthcare, diagnostics, infection control, contact tracing, mental health, potential treatments, and management of the mitigation measures related to social distancing and isolation.

The research projects are part of a broader initiative by the Irish State to mitigate and manage the COVID-19 pandemic by unlocking the potential of Irish based researchers and innovators, and to complement similar work around the world.

For further information, please see the press release.

Finally, the government’s roadmap acknowledges that the measures we have introduced go beyond anything we might contemplate in normal times. The approach that the government has adopted is grounded in guidance, evidence and experience from international organisations and other countries.

The Roadmap also sets out a framework for future decision-making by Government.

In deciding if further restrictions can be lifted, Government will be informed by a regular report from the Department of Health on:

• the latest data regarding the progression of the disease
• the capacity and resilience of the health service including for sampling, testing and contract tracing of the disease
• our ability to shield and care for at risk groups
• an assessment of the risk of other deaths and illness as a consequence of the restrictions

Government decisions will be informed by the advice of the Department of Health as well as other social and economic considerations.

Over the coming weeks we will also continue to work with all the stakeholders, right across Government, to support business and services to prepare for the lifting of restrictions. We need to find ways which support a gradual restart of activity while protecting the health and safety of workers, customers and clients and give everyone the assurance they want and deserve.

What will continue to be a feature of our lives for some time and especially as we tentatively re-open is a continued focus social distancing and the hygiene measures.

This is a good point to tell you that today the HSE marks the World Health Organization Hand Hygiene Day with the message:

Every year when World Hand Hygiene Day comes around we wonder how we will find a fresh way to talk to people about the importance of hand hygiene in preventing infection. This year it is all very different. Preventing infection with COVID-19 is now on everyone’s mind.

Recent research undertaken by the Department of Health shows that in relation to safe behaviours, 96% of people are washing their hands more often as a result of COVID-19.

The research also shows that 90% of people who are looking ahead say that they will continue to wash their hands frequently after the pandemic.

We want people to keep on going with their hand hygiene, help your children to learn good hand hygiene and help us to stop the spread of COVID-19 and other infections.

Also, in relation to hand hygiene, the Health Service Executive have been getting a lot of queries about wearing disposable gloves in public.

The HSE has advised that a key message for hand hygiene day is that they do not recommend using gloves while doing your shopping or when you are out and about. If there are bugs on your gloves those bugs often end up on your hands when you take the gloves off and from there they can very easily end up in your mouth, nose and eyes.

It’s much better to clean your hands regularly and properly.

This is one of the main things, along with social distancing that each of us can contribute to allow us all to exit safely and smoothly over the coming weeks and months from the current situation.

Thank you for staying the course.