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Source: TheJournal.ie/YouTube
Adjustments to the welfare system could allow recipients of pandemic unemployment payment (PUP) to do some work without losing their pay.
Talking to TheJournal.ie, Taoiseach Micheál Martin confirmed that the government is reviewing the PUP system and that any changes will target the sectors of the economy most affected by the pandemic.
The changes can be part of the October 13 Budget, and the Taoiseach indicates that the Government is studying how to use the social welfare system in a “creative” way.
PUP is available to employees and freelancers who lost their job on or after March 13 due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
New applications will now be accepted until the end of 2020.
“There could be more localized lockdowns in the future, so it’s only fair that people are willing to make use of Pandemic Unemployment Pay if they lose a job due to a mandatory shutdown,” Martin said.
Over the weekend, Housing Minister Darragh O’Brien hinted that the total amount of 350 euros a week could be recovered in the most affected sectors. Follow the changes introduced last week that reduced payments for many recipients.
In terms of restoring rates, Martin said the prospect was not out of the question.
“We have to look at that, we will review all the initiatives that we have taken to date to see if we have to improve them.”
He said no decision has been made regarding fees, insisting he would not get ahead of what would be announced on Budget Day.
Martin said “more industry-specific approaches” are being considered, adding that workers in hospitality, tourism and travel, as well as those in music and the arts, are most in need of additional help.
The government is looking at the use of the social protection system “a little more creatively to see if we can allow people to do some work.”
“They are not going to get the same volume of work in that sector as before, but they can do some work without having to lose their social protection payments.”
He said this was being considered as many people had to make a “very difficult decision” in deciding whether to cancel their payments to return to work.
“They may not get the amount of work in a week that would justify doing it.
“I think the budget is an opportunity to take stock again of the July stimulus and see what we can do to continue supporting entrepreneurs, businesses and propping up people in employment,” he said.
Martin’s comments come amid speculation other counties could move to Level Three later this week, after the National Public Health Emergency Team (NPHET) meets Thursday.
Yesterday, Senior Official Liz Canavan said Louth, Waterford, Limerick, Kildare, Donegal, Leitrim and Offaly counties have shown “worrying trends.”
The Taoiseach said the next three weeks will be crucial in determining whether Dublin’s restrictions work in the meantime to stabilize the numbers.
“We are keeping an eye on the rest of the country, and particularly in terms of Louth, Donegal and then Waterford, again, urging people to halve their number of social contacts compared to the number they would have had last week, and keep social distancing and doing the basics. Because that will help us avoid having to go to Level 3 in any of those counties. “
Source: TheJournal.ie/YouTube
Winter plan
HSE’s winter plan, to be announced this Thursday, will include € 600 million in new financing.
Martin said he would describe how the state plans to increase hospital capacity before winter, and will also provide details on diagnostic centers and community clinical centers that are expected to be used by people with respiratory illnesses so they don’t have to go. to the hospital for treatment.
Other measures will also be implemented to try to relieve pressure on hospital emergency departments.
“There will be pressures, it will be a very difficult winter, due to the flu, Covid and normal health pressures.”
The Taoiseach confirmed that discussions are taking place between the HSE and private hospitals in terms of acquiring hospital capacity “with respect to certain tasks and jobs.”
The HSE agreed to a deal to take over private hospitals for several months at the start of the pandemic. The Taoiseach said the winter plan would not sign the same measures.
“The last deal obviously had to be made in the middle of the pandemic. People did not realize how serious this would be, so the hospitals were simply acquired and then there was a big dispute in terms of utilization of the facilities.
“So this will be different this time. It is a more personalized model. In other words, it’s more about hiring services from hospitals. […] In terms of diagnostics and other areas, I think the HSE is working on that and there are tenders in terms of some capacity that the HSE may need in certain areas. They will get that capacity if there is an increase, ”Martin said.
The Taoiseach said there will be specific bed capacity targets in this week’s plan, for both acute and non-acute beds, as well as home care packages.
Source: Rollingnews.ie
Test and follow up
Last week, Sinn Féin targeted the government’s trace and test system, describing it as woefully inadequate.
Several health experts have also reiterated the need for quick response times, especially as demand for testing increases during cold and flu season during winter.
Martin insisted that Sinn Féin’s criticism was exaggerated. The HSE currently has the capacity to do 100,000 Covid tests per week, he said, with a German lab on standby to deal with if Ireland’s capacity is exceeded.
The Taoiseach also did not rule out the use of less invasive saliva swabs in some cases, rather than the current nasopharyngeal swab.
Whether the new tests are implemented is up to public health experts, the Taoiseach said, indicating that NPHET would have to be satisfied as to the accuracy of the new test.
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“I think there is still a little left. But obviously, in some places or areas, that might be an option. “
Several doctors have called for the daily reporting of Covid-19 numbers to be stopped, with one GP describing them as a “self-perpetuating cycle of misery.”
Tánaiste Leo Varadkar said that the daily figures should be published “because the more transparency the better.” However, he said there shouldn’t be an “obsessive” focus on them.
The Taoiseach, meanwhile, dismissed concerns about the daily reporting of case numbers, stating that it was important for people to be “alert and aware.”
Until there is a vaccine, the Taoiseach said a significant number of people will remain concerned and anxious.
“I do not accept the argument that the fact that the numbers are produced every day increases anxiety and worry, people want to know, people want information.
“They want knowledge, knowledge is power, knowledge increases their ability to avoid contracting the virus. So I think this idea of putting it on the back burner and hoping people don’t realize it’s growing, I don’t accept it. “
It has been noted that Ireland is taking a much stricter approach to containing the pandemic than other EU countries, especially when it comes to international travel and issues such as reopening of bars.
However, Martin said he is happy with Ireland’s current stance, adding:
“I am in the sense that different countries do different things. There are difficulties now in Madrid, significant difficulties in the UK and in other European countries. And again, what we are all learning in Europe and elsewhere is that this virus does not respect the best-laid plans. “
One area of concern for the Taoiseach is the “demarcation line between pizza pubs” which, according to him, was “becoming untenable and without credibility over time.”
He said he understood why the last government introduced the often criticized € 9 food rule to allow pubs serving food to reopen as it was a way to keep people seated, but said more and more pubs they reached agreements with the locals. pizza operations, and blurring the lines between “wet” pubs and food establishments.
As we approach winter, particularly in rural Ireland, the Taoiseach said he can see the importance of pubs opening their doors.
Mike murphy
Source: Andres Poveda
Murphy’s law
Speaking of being confronted by Mike Murphy during the backstage weekend at RTÉ, the Taoiseach described the veteran announcer as “quite polite and firm.”
Both men were on the Brendan O’Connor show Saturday morning. Although they were not on the air at the same time, Murphy told the presenter that he had run into Martin in a hallway and paid attention to current policies on cononavirus as he had to cancel a holiday due to Green List changes.
Murphy also said in his interview that, as someone over 70, he was unwilling to take shelter this winter, no matter what the advice is.
The Taoiseach said that in terms of people over 70, the government’s advice is now to exercise its own judgment.
“There are a lot of people in their 70s in good shape,” he said, urging them to keep a six-foot distance from others if they are away from home this winter.
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