HEALTH CONCERNS
We are aware of public health concerns being raised in relation to areas such as testing, clusters and masks. These matters are covered by the Chief Medical Officer and the Health Service Executive and are being addressed on an ongoing basis in their briefings.

CONTINUATION OF HEALTH SERVICES
I want to reiterate that other parts of the health service continue to operate. You should check in with your doctor or hospital if you have an appointment unless it has been specifically cancelled.
Most importantly, if you need urgent or emergency care, if you have for example heart attack or stroke symptoms, don’t hesitate go to the Emergency Department or call an ambulance.

COMMUNITY RESPONSE FORUM
I mentioned yesterday plans to establish in each local authority a COVID-19 Community Response Forum. These fora are now up and running and are co-ordinating C-19 community supports to ensure vulnerable members of the community are reached and helped at this time.
The fora comprise the local authority, Health Service Executive, county champions, An Post, Community Welfare Service, An Garda Síochána, other State organisations, charities and other stakeholders.
Each forum has set up a helpline for people to contact. The helplines, when fully ramped up, will operate from 8am to 8pm seven days a week. This is in addition to out-of-hours answering of calls by local authorities. The helplines which are already operating each received, on average, between 50-100 calls yesterday.
Individual support networks and organisations are continuing to provide support to vulnerable people who contact them.

Business Supports
I want to remind you, as I have mentioned at these briefings previously that the Government has put in place an unprecedented level of financial support schemes to help people through this difficult and worrying time:

Uptake of Temporary COVID-19 Wage Subsidy Scheme
Almost 26,000 employers are now registered with Revenue for the scheme.
Today, Revenue has generated further refunds under the scheme worth €9.1m.
These payments will be in the bank accounts of the majority of the respective employers tomorrow (1 April).
The cumulative value of payments made under the scheme is now €22.8m
Full details of the scheme are available on gov.ie

OTHER BUSINESS SUPPORTS
I would also like to remind small businesses impacted by COVID-19 that they can apply for loans of up to €50,000 from Micro Finance Ireland.
You can also reach out to your Local Enterprise Office for advice on how you can help your business to respond to COVID-19.
A Business Support Call Centre is open to provide information on Government supports for businesses and enterprises affected by COVID-19. More information on all of these schemes is available on Gov.ie
IRISH WATER
Irish Water has informed us that they have decided to postpone the introduction of a new tariff framework for business, industry, agriculture, charities and public bodies.
Irish Water will publish further updates in due course.

EMPLOYEES
If you are an employee who has been impacted by COVID-19, there are a range of income supports available to you. You can learn more about those supports and apply for them by visiting gov.ie and going to COVID-19 Pandemic Unemployment Payment.
The quickest way to submit an application for payment, in terms of both Pandemic Unemployment Payment as well as Enhanced Illness Benefit is online. Information on how to apply is available on Gov.ie If you have already applied but have been reemployed, you should close your application now.

BIKE SHARE SCHEME
Following consultation with the NTA, it has been confirmed that shared bike schemes such as Bike Share in Dublin, Galway, Limerick and Cork will continue to operate.
An analysis of usage suggested that the bikes in question are regularly used by hospital and other essential workers.
Assurances have also been given in relation to the cleaning and maintenance of the bikes. The NTA is happy that the service should remain operational.

BUSINESSES DONATING GOODS AND SERVICES
Since the beginning of this public health emergency, many businesses have contacted Government bodies to offer support through the supply or donation of goods and services. The Office of Government Procurement has created a central database of these offers on behalf of the whole of the public service, including the HSE.
For those businesses who would like to donate, offers can now be made through an online form on gov.ie
It may not be possible to match all offers with current needs, but we are very grateful for each and every offer of support.

CHARITIES
The Government is aware of the challenges faced by charities, social enterprises and other community and voluntary organisations and is committed to working closely with the sector in managing through these.
Assurances have been provided in relation to the continuation of exchequer funding supports for organisations in the sector.
The Government Temporary COVID-19 Wage Subsidy Scheme announced last week will also support employers in the sector to retain staff who are employed under non-exchequer funding sources. We are continuing to liaise with representatives of the sector in relation to the challenges faced at this time.

SUPPORTING CITIZENS ABROAD
Over 130 Irish passengers and their families departed Lima safely on Sunday 29 March, the majority on the flight organised by the Irish Government. We can confirm that most of these arrived safely back in Dublin yesterday
Likewise, some US chartered airlines landed in Shannon yesterday carrying Irish citizens and residents from Algeria and Ghana.
The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade has been working in close cooperation with airlines and travel agencies to ensure that those who want to return to Ireland from Australia, are able to do so.
Our Embassy in Canberra and Consulate in Sydney has directly contacted hundreds of Irish citizens.
In addition to the group who returned from Perth last week, we have arranged for seats on a number of flights departing Australia over recent days, and we are confident that most of these will be taken up by Irish citizens or residents.
For the moment, Qatar Airways is continuing to operate out of Australia. We would encourage Irish citizens to book with them, in the hopes of keeping those flights operating.
Any citizens in Australia who have not already done so should contact the Irish Embassy in Canberra or Consulate General in Sydney by email to share any concerns they may have.
We are also exploring a number of options to help our citizens in New Zealand who want to return to Ireland, to do so.

CONCERNS AND ISSUES

CONCERNS RE: DOMESTIC VIOLENCE
An Garda Siochana has recorded a year on year increase in the reporting of Domestic Abuse and related offences.
The Gardai continue to work closely with victims, NGOs and Government in this area, particularly given the current circumstances following public health measures.
This crime type is being closely monitored on a daily basis.
The Garda National Protective Service Bureau and Divisional Protective Service Units remain fully resourced at this time. All domestic abuse incidents reported to An Garda Síochána are investigated and that will continue.
An Garda Síochána policy is that any current victim of Domestic Abuse receives a personal call back, which can be via phone, within 7 days or sooner.

If you are a victim of crime or, a witness to one, you should report this to An Garda Síochána as soon as possible. In an Emergency always call 999/112.
By sharing any information about a crime you can help An Garda Síochána solve crimes and potentially prevent future crimes from taking place.

CONCERNS RE: COURTS & CHILD VISITATION
We are aware of issues some people are facing in terms of Court Appointed Child Visitation. The President of the District Court gave guidance last week in relation to parents making alternative arrangements for children to maintain contact during access hours, where they cannot travel as usual.
The Taoiseach’s statement last Friday clarified that at this time the best way to minimise the impact of COVID-19 is for people to stay at home.
We are now getting queries as to what parents should do in terms of visitation in light of these new restrictions.
While the Courts Service cannot comment on individual situations they are urging people to follow this guidance unless one of the below exceptions applies to their situation
to attend medical appointments and collect medicines and other health products for yourself, your family or someone who is vulnerable or cocooning
for vital family reasons including caring for children, older people or vulnerable people but excluding social family visits
to take brief individual physical exercise within your locality, which may include children from your household within 2 kilometres of your home and adhering to strict 2 metre social distancing measures”
CONCERNS RE: DIRECT PROVISION CENTRES
Concerns re: Direct Provision Centres
Government is working tirelessly, in particular through the International Protection Accommodation Service to ensure Direct Provision centres are well prepared and able to respond to any issues relating to COVID-19. There is more work to do, but this a rapidly evolving national emergency and we are following all advice from our Health Service Executive and National Public Health Emergency Team colleagues.
300 new beds were recently announced in new centres in Tullamore, Rosslare Harbour and Caherciveen. Further beds are actively being sourced for international protection applicants to better support social distancing measures in centres. Good progress is also being made on establishing an offsite self-isolation facility if required.
We will continue to do everything we can in this area in line with the best public health advice available.

COVID-19 APP
As part of the national response to Covid-19, work is underway to develop a new mobile COVID-19 App for real-time symptom tracking and digital contact tracing.
Intensive work is underway in the Department of Health and the Health SE, with direct support from the Office of Government Chief Information Officer and other technical expertise across the public service.
The implementation timeline will be determined by the technical progress and results from intensive testing that is currently taking place.

(There have been separate postings on PENSION SERVICES AND COCOONING, MARTS AND FUNERALS, also from this morning’s briefing.They can be found on my Facebook and on the website – Seán)