[ad_1]
There has been a slight drop in the number of people receiving the pandemic emergency payment of € 350 per week.
The number that received the payment last week was 589,000, a decrease of 9,000 in the previous week.
The figure reflects the first signs of restrictions easing for certain categories of workers, and this figure is expected to decrease considerably after May 18, when the government’s return to work protocols begin to take effect.
In the daily briefing in government buildings, it was revealed that the weekly cost to the State of the emergency payment is 206 million euros.
The briefing also heard that 53,200 employers have enrolled in the temporary wage subsidy scheme, with a total of 456,200 employees receiving assistance.
The cumulative value of the scheme is creeping towards € 1 billion. It now stands at € 878 million and revenue will generate € 13 million in payments.
Elizabeth Canavan of the Taoiseach Department also warned of a fraud scam in which people received text messages that allegedly came from the Department of Social Protection.
She said the message related to Covid-19 payments and recipients were asked to click a link to apply.
However, he said that this text did not come from the Government and warned people not to click on the link.
Meanwhile, Business Minister Heather Humphreys has indicated business in Ireland.could reopen faster than expected under the established government roadmap, if the spread of Covid-19 continues to decline.
In an interview Monday on The Irish Times Confronting Coronavirus podcast, Humphreys said the numbers showing a slower spread of the disease are encouraging and could speed up the roadmap that sets the timetable for the reopening of the economy, if the trend continues.
“We saw from this week’s numbers that we continue to flatten the curve,” said Humphreys.
“If that trend continues, we can begin to reopen the economy in line with the roadmap, if not faster.”
However, she said: “If the numbers go against us and rise again, we may have to reintroduce restrictions.”
Pressed by presenter Deirdre Veldon on the reopening schedule, especially for small businesses like hair salons and public houses, which will be the last to reopen, Ms Humphreys said: “If we do it right in the numbers and if we manage to reduce the amount of People who are contracting the virus have flexibility in the roadmap to allow them to open more quickly.
“Again, we will have to be guided by public health councils, but flexibility is certainly in the public health roadmap,” he said.
The number of people who died of coronaviruses in the state increased by 12 on Sunday, bringing the total number of deaths to 1,458. The number of confirmed cases in the republic increased by 236, to 22,996.
The latest figure from the National Public Health Emergency Team (NPHET) indicates that the growth rate in infected cases remains stable at approximately 1 percent per day, with Sunday growth slightly above that level.
HSE CEO Paul Reid said the testing capacity in the state is now 15,000 per day. He said the response time for tests is 2.4 days on average, and that there are currently 3,010 licensed Covid-19 related healthcare workers.
Mooring scheme
On Monday, the government also announced the details of a new mooring scheme for the fishing fleet stemming from the collapse of the markets for the industry.
Under the scheme, both inshore trawlers and larger fishing vessels will have the option of mooring for one or two months from June 1.
Ms Canavan said the plan was in response to the closure of many markets to the Irish fishing industries and the disruption of normal distribution channels, particularly restaurants in Ireland and abroad.
This has led to a sharp drop in both market demand and a drop in sales prices.
“The scheme gives (fishermen) an option to match supply (with demand). There is a voluntary option to tie for one or two of the next three months. It will be operational from June 1, “he said.
[ad_2]