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Finance Minister Paschal Donohoe has said that people should “exercise discretion and restraint” during the Christmas period to minimize further health risks from Covid-19, which in turn “will profoundly influence the look of 2021.”
Speaking on RTÉ’s Morning Ireland, Mr. Donohoe said it was “so tremendous” that so many companies could reopen today, and seeing so many return to work was essential.
However, he said it was “equally essential” that, when in restaurants, people must respect the livelihood and health of those who work there to ensure safety.
“We have to exercise discretion; indeed, we have to exercise restraint to ensure that during this period we do not create further health risks for ourselves and those who care for us when eating out, or for you.” “Hang out with your family,” Donohoe said.
“That is why it is so important that we try to maintain balance during the Christmas period because, in turn, it will profoundly influence the look of 2021.”
Speaking about the reopening of the hotel sector today, Finance Minister Paschal Donohoe says: “It is so important that we try to keep the balance during the Christmas period.” pic.twitter.com/nP2vFl1OGs
– RTÉ News (@rtenews) December 4, 2020
When asked about the cases of some outlets that did not reopen due to security precautions, Mr. Donohoe said that he could not comment on individual businesses, but understood that the decisions that some owners were making were “very difficult” .
Mr. Donohoe said the Covid Support Restriction Plan payment was “only available to businesses that need to close.”
He said there was an important issue of equity and use of taxpayer money that he needed to know.
The minister said that the CRSS payment allows companies that must close due to public health guidelines receive a weekly payment of up to € 5,000 in revenue, depending on their normal billing.
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Donohoe said there will also be an additional payment for businesses that cannot open due to restrictions in the last two weeks of this month and the first week of January.
He said this is being done because it is still a very difficult period for companies that cannot reopen.
Donohoe said that in general, if a business decides it does not want to reopen, if it still meets certain criteria, it will still be able to access other provisions, such as waiving fees and paying the Wage Subsidy Plan.
The decision on the PUP will be made in 2021 “when we are clear about our vaccination schedule,” says Finance Minister Paschal Donohoe. pic.twitter.com/LpazJg8Hhv
– RTÉ News (@rtenews) December 4, 2020
HSE’s clinical director, Dr. Colm Henry, has urged people to continue to keep their contacts to a minimum for the next several weeks.
Speaking on RTÉ’s News at One, Dr. Henry said the HSE is “concerned” by anecdotal evidence suggesting that restaurants are experiencing a high level of bookings over the next few weeks, but also said it is important to recognize “what Ireland has achieved “during Level 5 Restrictions, namely, he said, that we now have the lowest 14-day incidence rate in Europe.”
Dr. Henry said the National Public Health Emergency Team (NPHET) model may need to be “redesigned if we see worse excesses of behavior.”
“Our job at HSE and NPHET will be to monitor the numbers and look at trends, always remembering that there is a lag between new cases and the resulting impact on hospital services.”
But he said the projected number of cases for January doesn’t have to come true if everyone does their part.
“It doesn’t have to be this way. The R-value is the sum total of millions of small behaviors of each and every one of the people. The more each one of us contributes individually, by reducing the number of contacts, by maintaining social distancing By not letting down our guard, we can prevent that specter from happening, “said Dr. Henry.
He said other health systems in Europe “are not working well,” which is a “reminder of how fragile this success is. It can be scrapped if people don’t keep their guard up.”
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Meanwhile, the deputy assistant general in the Taoiseach department, Liz Canavan, said that if people can comply with the required security measures, then they can enjoy dining out while staying safe.
Speaking at today’s government press conference, Ms Canavan said the hospitality sector has been working hard to ensure that people can dine safely and pointed to the advice that seats should be distant, Tables must hold a maximum of six people, hand sanitizer will be provided, and customers will have a maximum table time.
Canavan said it’s a busy time of year and urged people to support local stores.
He said that anyone who feels bad should try to stay home instead of shopping.
He urged people to try to keep shopping time to a minimum and also to wear a face cover.
Speaking about a series of big sporting events to be held in the coming weeks behind closed doors, Ms. Canavan said that people will want to celebrate home arrivals if their team is victorious, but that won’t be possible this year.
He said it is important to note that the parties themselves can only go ahead because of the efforts of people who already adhere to public health councils.
Ms. Canavan said that Gardaí will continue Operation Fanacht in the coming weeks, with more than 100 checkpoints conducted daily and patrols in crowded locations in the lead up to Christmas.
She collectively said this weekend “we have a chance to show how well we can do this, but it means that everyone has to step up.”
He urged people to work together to make the reopening sustainable, adding that if companies are having a hard time controlling the situation, “do the brave thing” and seek help or close your business if the congregation is getting too much.
Ms. Canavan said that this week more than 351,000 people received Pandemic Unemployment Pay, which is a reduction from last week as many people return to work.
In the seven days to Dec. 1, 6,800 closed their claim, and 4,500 did so when they returned to work.
She said there are currently 41,200 employers registered for the EWSS.
Ms. Canavan said that to date more than € 1 billion in subsidies have been paid to 39,000 employers for 420,800 employees under the wage subsidy scheme.
He also said that nearly 13,000 companies have signed up for CRSS payment.
She said that in addition to the normal weekly PUP, more than 286,000 people received a late payment.
He said this was due to a delay in the start of some previous payments and, in some cases, application errors.
Ms. Canavan said the Department continues to review the records in order to make any other late payments later this month.
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