Publication
Briefing on the government's response to COVID-19 - Wednesday 1 July 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,
As you know, on Monday we moved to Phase 3 of our Roadmap to Reopen Society and Business. At this stage you are probably familiar with what the latest easing of restrictions involves but I’ll do a quick recap.
Places of worship, gyms, cinemas, leisure facilities, and hairdressers and barber shops are now open.
Cultural venues such as Museums, galleries, and theatres, can reopen.
Crèches and childcare facilities, summer camps, youth clubs and adult educational facilities are available once again.
Driving schools, driving tests and other driving services may recommence.
Cafés and restaurants as well as pubs and hotel bars operating as restaurants began offering food on premises again.
Hotels, hostels, caravan parks and holiday parks have all reopened.
Sporting activities, both for adults and children have resumed with limitations on the number of spectators permitted.
Mass gatherings of up to 50 people indoors and 200 people outdoors are now permitted.
Naturally, all of this will mean more people moving around, more gatherings, more activity. This is a great relief to many of us who have been waiting to reunite with family and friends. It means more people will be getting back to work, more people can resume the activities that they have been patiently waiting to resume. What would have been taken for granted 4 months ago, means so much now.
We worked really hard to get to this point, we gave up a lot. However, all this additional movement and contact between people also means that if we don’t all act responsibly and ensure that we are strictly following the public health guidance then the risk of the virus spreading becomes greater.
And I just want to make a few points about where we are now:
A recent and troubling survey from CSO indicates that just around 60% of respondents rated their personal compliance with government advice and guidelines as high, compared to over 80.6% in April.
It is really important to be aware that COVID-19 is still with us, it hasn’t gone away. If each of us as individuals is not careful, if we do not continue to moderate our behaviour, it can begin circulating again.
What all of this tells us is that we cannot be complacent. Complacency is our biggest enemy now. We must continue to do the simple things:
Over 64,400 employers are now registered with Revenue for the Temporary Wage Subsidy Scheme.
An estimated 405,000 employees are currently being supported by the Scheme having received a subsidy in their most recent pay period.
Today (1 July), Revenue has generated further payments to employers under the scheme of almost €30.5 million.
These payments will be in the bank accounts of the majority of the respective employers tomorrow (2 July).
The cumulative value of payments made to employers under the scheme is almost €1.8 billion (€1,850 million).
Last week, approximately 20,100 people in receipt of the Pandemic Unemployment Payment closed their claim as they had returned to work as part of the Roadmap for Reopening Society and Business.
Approximately 14,000 of these are receiving their last unemployment payment this week because they were unemployed in the payment week, which is due to recipients.
Since the start of the reopening, approximately 145,000 people have closed their claim as they have returned to work.
If you are returning to work this week, you should close your claim as you return to work on the day you return to employment.
To close your unemployment claim, you should log on to www.gov.ie, click on the link for the COVID-19 Pandemic Unemployment Payment and follow the instructions to close your claim.
Yesterday, 439,000 people received their Pandemic Unemployment Payment. Those people who continue to receive this payment are required to confirm their eligibility for the receipt of the payment.
In order to do so, you should log online to www.mywelfare.ie and follow the instructions to confirm your eligibility. This is the simplest and easiest way to do it. You do not need to call into your local Intreo to confirm your eligibility.
Pandemic Unemployment Payment recipients have until Monday 13 July to confirm their eligibility.
Since the onset of the pandemic, a raft of measures aimed at supporting business during the crisis have been introduced and as I have said before, the take up of these schemes continues to be strong.
I want to draw particular attention to the €250m [external-link https://dbei.gov.ie/en/What-We Do/Supports-for-SMEs/COVID-19-supports/COVID-19-Restart-Grant-Local-Authority-Websites.html | Restart Grant ] which provides direct grant aid of a minimum of €2,000 to a maximum of €10,000 to micro and small businesses to help them with the costs associated with reopening and reemploying workers.
Applications for this grant can be made through the Local Authorities and to date 33,815 applications have been received with 15,366 approved, which saw a total of €61.17m in payments made to small businesses.
The Trading Online Voucher Scheme continues to be hugely popular and to date over 6,000 applications for the Scheme have been made to the Local Enterprise Offices with over 3,000 approved to a value of €7.62 million.
Microfinace Ireland loan applications continue to increase with 921 applications now approved to a value of over €15.65 million.
Last Thursday, the government announced that the [external-link https://www.gov.ie/en/service/52fb76 enterprise-support-grant/ | Enterprise Support Grant ] will be made available to assist self-employed recipients who are exiting the Pandemic Unemployment Payment (PUP) scheme. It will provide a once-off grant of up to €1,000 to owners re-starting their business.
The grant will be payable to self-employed micro enterprises which employ fewer than 10 people, have an annual turnover of less than €1 million and are not eligible for support from the COVID-19 Business Restart Grant or other similar business reopening grants.
For more information on the different supports available for business go to gov.ie.
Last week the government announced that temporary funding supports will be introduced for the licensed bus sector. This will assist essential operators who are still under severe financial distress due to the fall in passenger numbers and associated drop in fare revenue as a result of COVID-19.
Licensed bus operators are essential in areas that are not covered by existing public service obligation bus or rail services. The aim of the provision is to ensure the continued operation of essential licensed bus services for a period of up to six months.
The Community Call Fora, run by the local authorities, continue to operate. Nationally, since 31 March, the Community Call Fora have received approximately 51,000 calls and have made over 19,800 follow-up calls.
Last week, they received approximately 1,100 calls nationally and approximately 390 follow-up calls were made.
Helplines operate from 9am to 5pm seven days a week. You can find your local helpline number [external link https://www.gov.ie/en/publication/1f06f7-covid-19-community-call-local-authority-helpline numbers-and-email-a/ | here. ]
I also wanted to mention that today is Your Council Day 2020. Local authorities across the country are highlighting the services they offer and the work they do for the public, for communities and for a range of organisations and businesses day-in, day-out.
Local authorities provide hundreds of services and supports across Ireland. During the pandemic, councils have been finding innovative ways to provide the vital services we all rely on, and to work closely with the community to support those who need them.
From leading local initiatives such as the Community Call fora, to providing grants, advice and training to reopening businesses, local authorities have been and remain on hand to help.
You can find more information today by following @LAsIreland and joining the "#YourCouncilDay" conversation.
As part of Phase 3 of the Reopening Roadmap, as of today seven of our National Cultural Institutions will have reopened either fully or partly to the public.
These are:
The National Museum of Ireland’s Natural History Museum and Archaeology Museum will reopen on 20 July, while the National Concert Hall and the Abbey Theatre will reopen at a later date. Reopening details for each Cultural Institution are available on their individual websites.
Last week it was announced that the School meals programme will be extended for the summer. The programme provides funding towards the provision of quality nutritious food to some 1,580 schools and organisations benefitting 250,000 children.
Where previously the programme has ceased at the end of the school year this year it will extend a further nine weeks until the funding for the new school year commences.
Under the revised scheme, families of students receive weekly bags of food instead of daily lunches. The aim is to support children who do not have access to nutritious food and ensure that no child experiences “holiday hunger”.
National Play Day 2020 will take place on Saturday, July 4 2020.
This year National Play Day, with the theme of Playful Homes, Playful Communities, is being delivered under the broader Let’s Play Ireland campaign and is part of the government’s In This Together campaign.
Let’s Play Ireland has been running since April as part of the government response to supporting children and families during COVID-19 restrictions. It recognises the importance of play for children’s wellbeing, learning and development.
You should check with your Local Authority to see what great ideas will take place in your area for National Play Day 2020 and also check out Gov.ie/letsplayireland to view the National Play Day video and further play ideas.
I just wanted to mention, in this very strange year for our Leaving Cert Students, that the CAO Change of Mind application deadline is at 5.15pm today.
This free facility offers applicants the opportunity to add, remove or change the order of their course choices.
To make changes, applicants should log in via the ‘My Application’ facility at www.cao.ie and go to the section for changing course choices.
A video guide to the CAO Change of Mind process is available on cao.ie.
Sport Ireland continues to provide training & support resources to the sector in relation to COVID-19 through a blend of classroom based and eLearning opportunities.
The Sport Ireland COVID-19 Awareness eLearning Course was created to support administrators, volunteers, coaches and participants to return to sport during phase 2 in a safe & practical manner. Funded Bodies were encouraged to share the Course with its affiliates, clubs and members through its direct & social media channels.
As we move through to Phase 3 of the Roadmap, this course will be updated to reflect current public health guidelines and also include additional online support for Compliance Officer Training for Clubs & Community Groups.
The course will be available on the Sport Ireland website and will also include the option for participants to download a certificate of completion.
During this pandemic, all kinds of organisations have found themselves in a position where in order to prioritise the safety of their members, staff and volunteers they have been unable to offer their usual services.
Sporting organisations in particular, including the FAI, IRFU and the GAA as well as other sports governing bodies, have been unable to offer their normal schedule of events and as such have been severely impacted in terms of income.
From the absence of ticket sales, commercial sponsorship and broadcasting rights, and without the usual fundraising events sporting bodies across the country, from national level to county and provincial units, are finding themselves in an extremely difficult situation. The very existence of these bodies was and is under threat.
The Government decision on 19 June 2020 to offer support to National Governing Bodies of Sport was a direct response to address that.
However, even with that assistance, the ability of the governing bodies to help provincial, county and club units is considerably reduced. As such National Governing Bodies are now reaching out to their clubs and members to thank them for their patience throughout this difficult and unprecedented year and to ask for their continued understanding. Without the ongoing support of their fee paying members the sporting infrastructure in counties across the country could collapse.
The membership of Sports Bodies across the country make up the lifeblood of sport in Ireland and with their continued support of their clubs we can all look forward to the days when we can return to our normal sporting fixtures, games, events and competitions.
Monday marked the beginning of the phased reopening of the driver testing service, Driving tests are now being rolled out on a phased basis, at first for buses, trucks and motorcycles. Tests for cars, vans and minibuses will resume in the coming weeks as part of the government’s revised plan for reopening the country. As such driving instruction will now also need to resume.
Earlier this month, the Road Safety Authority wrote to Approved Driving Instructors advising them of the planned resumption of driver testing and offering an FAQ designed to assist instructors in resuming their business in the context of health requirements and in line with the protocols adopted by the RSA for the resumption of the driving test.
Driving instruction is a private business, and it is the responsibility of driving instructors and driving schools to ensure a safe return to work in line with the relevant public health guidance and the “Return to Work Safely Protocol”. It is also hoped that the protocols adopted by the RSA will also assist in understanding how the public health guidance can be applied to their specific context.
This week alone we have reported at least six cases of COVID-19 associated with international travel.
As I mentioned, the WHO has warned that the global pandemic is accelerating, with over 1.1 million cases reported in a week and over 10 million cases reported globally to date.
During this phase, government advice is still to avoid non-essential travel. As I said already, we have largely suppressed the spread of the virus in the community in Ireland and this is a major achievement.
It’s important to remember the early days of this pandemic, and that our early cases in Ireland were associated with international travel.
Realising how infectious COVID-19 is, and the very real possibility that a person won't have any symptoms, the risk now is a new imported cases spreading in the community before we can identify and break the chains of transmission.
We have to keep up the good work, or risk losing all the ground we have gained. It is of course hugely important that we reopen society, the economy and travel but all the time balancing the risk of another wave of infection around the country.
We understand that the issue of foreign travel is causing a degree of uncertainty and worry – some people have holidays booked and are wondering what to do.
We are acutely aware of this and we would ask you to bear with us. The situation is undoubtedly volatile from a disease point of view.
The government have committed to preparing a roadmap for safe overseas travel and will finalise its considerations shortly.
Also, I want to highlight current antibody testing which is being carried out by the Department of Health. COVID-19 is a new disease and we continue to learn about its behaviour Several thousand people in Dublin and Sligo between the ages of 12 and 69 have been invited to take part in a SCOPI antibody test to determine how many people may have had the disease and not been tested, or how many people had mild, or no symptoms, and did not know they had the virus.
The test involves a survey carried out by phone and a blood test.
If you have received a letter from the HSE we are asking you to participate in the SCOPI Antibody test and help us learn more about this disease.
We have all heard reports, or people recounting stories, of being in a venue, or outlet that appear not to be adhering to the Phase 3 guidance – maybe people feel an outlet is too crowded, or people are being permitted to stay at a venue for too long.
Since Phase 1 of reopening began, an intensive regime for monitoring compliance with the Return to Work Safely Protocol has been in place. This has been led by the Health and Safety Authority, with assistance from the inspectorates of the Workplace Relations Commission, the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine, and the HSE Environmental Health Service. Over 500 inspectors are involved in this work.
Analysis of these inspections indicates that compliance with the Protocol is high and businesses are generally taking a responsible and proactive approach.
In addition, in Phase 3, the existing monitoring regime will be complemented by the efforts of Fáilte Ireland and its agents/partners who will carry out a series of spot checks across various sectors on businesses that are successfully granted the Fáilte Ireland Safety Charter.
While there is a monitoring regime in place, businesses are expected to be responsible in their approach. This responsible approach has been taken throughout this emergency and has contributed to the fact that we have been able to move to Phase 3, and it is even more important now. Taking a responsible approach will protect not only individual businesses but the wider industry.
Individual responsibility, however, is every bit as important as the monitoring regime or as businesses being responsible. If you find yourself in a situation that makes you uncomfortable, if you feel a business is too crowded, or is not applying the guidelines properly – you should leave. Personal responsibility has been vital to our success in supressing the virus and moving through the roadmap. So I want to leave you with this message today: If you feel unsafe, if you feel a venue is too crowded – go with your gut, trust your instincts, don’t go in or leave.
So to finish up today, I hope you all enjoy the badly needed haircuts, or a welldeserved meal in a restaurant. However, please be mindful that the virus remains a risk, it remains in Ireland and we still need to be careful, in fact we need to be more careful than ever.
I know you want to meet friends for the first time in a long time but we must also try to keep our contacts to a minimum, we must maintain all of the good hygiene behaviours and we must continue to keep our distance. We have come a long way, and we want to be able to continue on that journey.
We do not want to have to go back.
Thank you.