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The Government is expected to step up its response to the rise of Covid-19 and introduce a combination of Level 4 and 5 this week. But there was no major announcement from the coalition last night after a meeting of party leaders and top ministers concluded that no decisions are expected until tomorrow, when the full cabinet will meet.
In government buildings, Transport Minister and Green Party leader Eamon Ryan said last night that the various implications of escalating restrictions need to be considered, including the impact on people’s employment and mental health. He said the number of hospitalized and ICU patients is increasing, but not in such a way that “taking a day or two to consider any action” is not appropriate.
High-level coalition figures were briefed yesterday on the huge societal costs of Level 5, including laying off 120,000 people and businesses unable to recover from a prolonged shutdown for the second time this year.
The government has been told that the cost of paying pandemic unemployment pay (PUP) to hundreds of thousands of employees who would be out of work would be € 100 million per week at level 4 and € 160 million at level 5 The state is already paying € 60 million weekly in PUP payments to 228,000 workers.
In addition to this, a government source said Level 4 or 5 restrictions would cause the state to pay close to € 100 million a week under the new Covid Restrictions Scheme, which will offer weekly grants of up to € 5,000 each. companies forced to close. .
Details emerged of the 260 million euro cost of supporting businesses and workers if restrictions are tightened, the Sunday Independent understands that “a more up-to-date definition” of a “designated worker” and an “essential service” should be considered before of new measures are put in place.
For example, essential services for Level 4 contain 18 categories that include “construction and development” workers, but construction site workers are not considered essential at Level 5.
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Dr. Tony Holohan, Medical Director, and Dr. Ronan Glynn. Photos: Frank McGrath
However, it is understood that Housing Minister Darragh O’Brien informed the construction industry that it is an essential service at Levels 4 and 5.
There are also several issues to be resolved around employment supports. The Employment Wage Subsidy Plan, announced in July, was designed for employers to reopen after the first shutdown, not for a second shutdown. “It’s complicated,” a government source said last night, adding: “There is a general agreement that we need to intensify our response.”
Other issues that are being examined by ministers this weekend are measures that would seek to address house parties, but fall short of giving gardaí the power to enter people’s homes. Justice Minister Helen McEntee will present proposals to Cabinet on Tuesday.
It is also planned to continue to consult with the Northern Irish authorities regarding the restrictive measures implemented there.
The spread of Covid is widely believed to have spread to three border counties here – Cavan, Donegal, and Monaghan – which are already under Level 4 restrictions.
Taoiseach Micheál Martin was briefed yesterday by Medical Director Dr. Tony Holohan and senior public health officials before a meeting with Tánaiste Leo Varadkar, Green Party leader Eamon Ryan, Finance Minister Paschal Donohoe, Minister of Public Expenditure Michael McGrath and Health Minister Stephen Donnelly.
There was a question and answer session between the six cabinet members and Dr. Holohan and officials, including HSE chief Paul Reid, who told the government of his concern that non-Covid care would be affected by an increase in hospital and ICU admissions as a result of the virus. Reid’s opinion on the health service’s ability to cope in the coming weeks will be critical to the final decision.
There was growing resistance among coalition ministers and TDs to move to Level 5, with some Cabinet ministers privately saying that the entire state should move to Level 4. However, the “alarming trajectory” and the number of cases The rapidly increasing numbers could force the Coalition to implement the public health recommendations in their entirety, a senior government source admitted.
Privately, some Cabinet members oppose a move to Level 5, while others believe that “somewhere between Level 4 and 5” is what will likely happen.
Ministers are also furious at Nphet, blaming the group for twice leaking advice to shut down before the government could consider it in recent weeks and for failing to provide guidance on what would constitute a success and thus allow it to ease. The restrictions.
There are numerical targets in other countries that dictate what restrictions are imposed.
For example, Germany agreed last week to limit private gatherings and impose an 11 p.m. curfew in bars and restaurants in areas where the weekly rate is more than 35 new cases per 100,000 people. Once the threshold of 50 new cases per 100,000 is exceeded, stricter measures will be imposed in the 16 federal states of the country.
A cabinet minister said: “Five is very severe economically. I would not go to 5. People need a bit of reorganization. Home visits had to be taken care of and if that was fulfilled it should make a difference. We” have to make sure that that the drug does not kill the patient. ”
A second cabinet minister also signaled resistance to Level 5 restrictions, saying: “[We] first it is necessary to give time to Level 4. “
Yesterday several ministers and TD echoed his opinions in public and in private. Fianna Fáil Health Minister Anne Rabbitte signaled her opposition to escalating restrictions at this time. “We are getting the best public health advice from Nphet and have always followed it. But I think we need time to let the current levels work out where we have Level 3 for most of the country.”
Fianna Fáil’s influential backbenchers Jim O’Callaghan and Barry Cowen oppose Level 5, while another senior TD, Willie O’Dea, suggested a move to Level 4 first.
At Fine Gael, former Housing Minister Eoghan Murphy is among several high-ranking party delegates who are against another lockdown.
“Every new day under restrictions this economic situation becomes more precarious for all of us and more permanent damage is done to our economy. I am not being heartless with Covid or the difficult times that people go through … but we must think about it the damage to health not caused by Covid in our society and damage that is being done to jobs in our economy, “Murphy said last week.
Meanwhile, Sinn Féin leader Mary Lou McDonald has again declined if her party supports Nphet’s recommendations to move to Level 5.
“We are certainly on our way to higher levels of restrictions, possibly Level 5. The situation is very dire and Sinn Féin will support the measures necessary to save lives and protect public health,” he told the Sunday Independent.
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