Connacht Tribune
Level 5 ‘lockdown’ restrictions from midnight Wednesday
The Government has decided that as of midnight on Wednesday, all of Ireland will be placed on Level ‘lockdown’ restrictions.
This action is based on current public health advice, the deteriorating situation with the disease across the country and the Government’s objectives to support families by keeping schools and childcare facilities open, maintaining non-Covid health services and protecting the vulnerable.
Level 5 restrictions will remain in place for a period of 6 weeks.
Given the difficulties that these restrictions place on individuals and families across the State, the risk of job losses and of poverty and homelessness, the Government has agreed that the moratorium on evictions be reinstated and that Pandemic Unemployment Payment and the Employee Wage Subsidy Scheme be amended to reflect these challenges.
Placing the country at Level 5 Restrictions will have the following implications:
- people are asked to stay at home. People should work from home unless providing an essential service for which their physical presence is required (see below for essential services)
- people will be permitted to exercise within a radius of 5 km of their home
- there will be a penalty for movement outside 5km of home, with exemptions to this for essential work and essential purposes
- in line with current NPHET advice in respect of Level 5, schools, early learning and childcare services will continue to remain open and are deemed essential
- in addition, in recognition of the impact on children and young people of restrictions, non-contact training can continue for school aged children, outdoors in pods of 15. All other training activities should be individual only, with some exemptions, see below
- there should be no visits to other people’s homes or gardens
- however, there will be the concept of an extended household (or support bubble) for defined categories of individuals to support those at risk of social isolation and/or mental ill-health (see notes to editors).
- no social/family gatherings should take place, with the exemptions to this for weddings and funerals (see below).
It is possible to meet with one other household in an outdoor setting which is not a home or garden, such as a park, including for exercise
- there should be no organised indoor or outdoor events.
- essential retail and essential services will remain open (see below).
- public transport will operate at 25% capacity for the purposes of allowing those providing essential services to get to work [School transport unaffected].
- in line with current NPHET advice in respect of Level 5, professional, elite sports and inter-county Gaelic games, horse-racing and greyhound racing can continue behind closed doors.
- bars, cafes, restaurants and wet pubs may provide take-away and delivery services only. Wet pubs in hotels, guesthouses and B&Bs may remain open, but only to support provision of essential services.
- those aged over 70 and the medically vulnerable are advised to continue to exercise personal judgement. It is recommended that they stay at home as much as possible, limit engagement to a very small network for short periods of time, while remaining physically distanced. When taking exercise outdoors, it is important to maintain 2 metres distance from others and wash hands on returning home. It is recommended to shop during designated hours only, while wearing a face covering, and to avoid public transport.
- religious services will be available online
- museums, galleries and other cultural attractions will remain closed
- libraries will be available for online services only.
- outdoor playgrounds, play areas and parks will remain open with protective measures.
- visits to Long Term Residential Care facilities are suspended with the exception of visits required for critical and compassionate circumstances
Essential purposes for travel (permitted outside 5k limit):
- travel to and from work, where work involves providing an essential service (see below)
- to attend medical appointments and collect medicines and other health products
- for vital family reasons, such as providing care to children, elderly or vulnerable people, and in particular for those who live alone, as part of an extended household but excluding social family visits
- to attend a wedding or funeral
- for farming purposes i.e. food production and/or care of animals
- to visit a grave
Exemptions for weddings (irrespective of venue): Up to 25 guests for wedding ceremony and reception.
Exemption for funerals: Up to 10 mourners.
No training or matches should take place, with the exception of professional, elite sports and inter-county Gaelic games, horse-racing and greyhound racing, which are being permitted to continue behind closed doors.
In order to support those who risk isolation, such as single adult households and those who have shared parenting or shared custody arrangements; those living alone who have mental health challenges, or those living with partner with dementia for example, it will be possible for those in such circumstances to nominate one other household with whom they can mix. This will allow for social support beyond the caring exemptions already available.
We know the move to Level 5 will have a significant impact on businesses – we know many people will temporarily lose their jobs on Thursday
As a result of the fact that businesses have to close we are making changes to the PUP and the EWSS
The new payment structure for the PUP is as follows, with the rate of €350 restored to those who were earning in excess of €400 per week:
| Prior Weekly Earnings (Gross) | PUP Payment |
| less than €200 | €203 |
| €200 – €299.99 | €250 |
| €300 – €399.99 | €300 |
| more than €400 | €350 |
This change to payment rates will apply for payments issued from Tuesday 27th October (PUP is paid weekly on a Tuesday) in respect of all existing and new applicants.
The EWSS is also being amended to align with the amendment to PUP. This means here will be 5 payment rates/bands as follows:
- 0 – €151 = €0
- >€151 < €203 = €203
- >€203 < €300 = €250
- >€300 < €400 = €300
- >€400< €1,462 = €350
The main aim of this scheme is to ensure where possible employees retain their link with their employer rather than become unemployed. This revised scheme will run to end January 2021.
Essential retail outlets:
Retailers with mixed retail offering which have discrete spaces for essential and non-essential retail should make arrangements for the separation of relevant areas.
- outlets selling food or beverages on a takeaway basis, or newspapers, whether on a retail or wholesale basis and whether in a non-specialised or specialised outlet.
- markets that, wholly or principally, offer food for sale.
- outlets selling products necessary for the essential upkeep and functioning of places of residence and businesses, whether on a retail or wholesale basis.
- pharmacies, chemists and retailers or wholesalers providing pharmaceuticals or pharmaceutical or dispensing services, whether on a retail or wholesale basis.
- outlets selling health, medical or orthopaedic goods in a specialised outlet, whether on a retail or wholesale basis.
- fuel service stations and heating fuel providers
- outlets selling essential items for the health and welfare of animals (including animal feed and veterinary medicinal products, pet food, animal bedding and animal supplies), whether on a retail or wholesale basis.
- laundries and drycleaners
- banks, post offices and credit unions
- outlets selling safety supplies (including work-wear apparel, footwear and personal protective equipment), whether on a retail or wholesale basis.
- hardware outlets, builders’ merchants and outlets that provide, whether on a retail or wholesale basis –
– hardware products necessary for home and business maintenance or construction and development,
– sanitation and farm equipment, or
– supplies and tools essential for farming or agriculture purposes.
-outlets providing for the repair and maintenance of mechanically propelled vehicles or bicycles and any related facilities (including tyre sales and repairs).
- the following outlets, insofar as they offer services on an emergency basis only:
-optician and optometrist outlets
-outlets providing hearing test services or selling hearing aids and appliances
-outlets selling office products and services for businesses or for relevant persons working from their respective places of residence, whether on a retail or wholesale basis
-outlets providing electrical, information and communications technology and telephone sales, repair and maintenance services for places of residence and businesses.
- any other retail outlet that operates an online or other remote system of ordering goods for purposes of collection at the retail outlet
- outlets selling food or beverages whether on a retail or wholesale basis and whether in a non-specialised or specialised outlet:
-insofar as they sell food or beverages on a takeaway basis or for consumption off the premises,
-insofar as they are staff canteens operating for the exclusive use of persons working in, or at, a particular premises, or
– hotels or similar accommodation services insofar as they sell food or beverages for consumption on the premises by residents of the service.
See the list of Essential Services HERE
Significant state investment is required to address ‘shocking’ inequalities that leave cancer patients in the West at greater risk of succumbing to the disease.
A meeting of Regional Health Forum West heard that survival rates for breast, lung and colorectal cancers than the national average, and with the most deprived quintile of the population, the West’s residents faced poorer outcomes from a cancer diagnosis.
For breast cancer patients, the five-year survival rate was 80% in the West versus 85% nationally; for lung cancer patients it was 16.7% in the west against a 19.5% national survival rate; and in the West’s colorectal cancer patients, there was a 62.6% survival rate where the national average was 63.1%.
These startling statistics were provided in answer to a question from Ballinasloe-based Cllr Evelyn Parsons (Ind) who said it was yet another reminder that cancer treatment infrastructure in the West was in dire need of improvement.
“The situation is pretty stark. In the Western Regional Health Forum area, we have the highest incidence of deprivation and the highest health inequalities because of that – we have the highest incidences of cancer nationally because of that,” said Cllr Parsons, who is also a general practitioner.
In details provided by CEO of Saolta Health Care Group, which operates Galway’s hospitals, it was stated that a number of factors were impacting on patient outcomes.
Get the full story in this week’s Connacht Tribune, on sale in shops now, or you can download the digital edition from www.connachttribune.ie. You can also download our Connacht Tribune App from Apple’s App Store or get the Android Version from Google Play.
Galway 3-18
Cork 1-10
NEW setting; new opposition; new challenge. It made no difference to the Galway minor hurlers as they chalked up a remarkable sixth consecutive double digits championship victory at Semple Stadium on Saturday.
The final scoreline in Thurles may have been a little harsh on Cork, but there was no doubting Galway’s overall superiority in setting up only a second-ever All-Ireland showdown against Clare at the same venue on Sunday week.
Having claimed an historic Leinster title the previous weekend, Galway took a while to get going against the Rebels and also endured their first period in a match in which they were heavily outscored, but still the boys in maroon roll on.
Beating a decent Cork outfit by 14 points sums up how formidable Galway are. No team has managed to lay a glove on them so far, and though Clare might ask them questions other challengers haven’t, they are going to have to find significant improvement on their semi-final win over 14-man Kilkenny to pull off a final upset.
Galway just aren’t winning their matches; they are overpowering the teams which have stood in their way. Their level of consistency is admirable for young players starting off on the inter-county journey, while the team’s temperament appears to be bombproof, no matter what is thrown at them.
Having romped through Leinster, Galway should have been a bit rattled by being only level (0-4 each) after 20 minutes and being a little fortunate not to have been behind; or when Cork stormed out of the blocks at the start of the second half by hitting 1-4 to just a solitary point in reply, but there was never any trace of panic in their ranks.
For more, read this week’s Connacht Tribune.
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GARDAÍ and the IFA have issued a joint appeal to all road users to take extra care as the silage season gets under way across the country.
Silage harvesting started in many parts of Galway last week – and over the coming month, the sight of tractors and trailers on rural roads will be getting far more frequent.
Inspector Conor Madden, who is in charge of Galway Roads Policing, told the Farming Tribune that a bit of extra care and common-sense from all road users would go a long way towards preventing serious collisions on roads this summer.
“One thing I would ask farmers and contractors to consider is to try and get more experienced drivers working for them.
“Tractors have got faster and bigger – and they are also towing heavy loads of silage – so care and experience are a great help in terms of accident prevention,” Inspector Madden told the Farming Tribune.
He said that tractor drivers should always be aware of traffic building up behind them and to pull in and let these vehicles pass, where it was safe to do so.
“By the same token, other road users should always exercise extra care; drive that bit slower; and ‘pull in’ that bit more, when meeting tractors and heavy machinery.
“We all want to see everyone enjoying a safe summer on our roads – that extra bit of care, and consideration for other roads users can make a huge difference,” said Conor Madden.
He also advised motorists and tractor drivers to be acutely aware of pedestrians and cyclists on the roads during the summer season when more people would be out walking and cycling on the roads.
The IFA has also joined in on the road safety appeal with Galway IFA Farm Family and Social Affairs Chair Teresa Roche asking all road users to exercise that extra bit of care and caution.
“We are renewing our annual appeal for motorists to be on the look out for tractors, trailers and other agricultural machinery exiting from fields and farmyards,” she said.
For more, read this week’s Connacht Tribune.
Connacht Tribune Digital Edition App
Download the Connacht Tribune Digital Edition App to access to Galway’s best-selling newspaper.
Click HERE to download it for iPhone and iPad from Apple’s App Store, or HERE to get the Android Version from Google Play.
Or purchase the Digital Edition for PC, Mac or Laptop from Pagesuite HERE.
Get the Connacht Tribune Live app
The Connacht Tribune Live app is the home of everything that is happening in Galway City and county. It’s completely FREE and features all the latest news, sport and information on what’s on in your area. Click HERE to download it for iPhone and iPad from Apple’s App Store, or HERE to get the Android Version from Google Play.
Families queue up for school’s offer of free house
West has lower cancer survival rates than rest
Galway minors continue to lay waste to all opponents
Gardaí and IFA issue a joint appeal on summer road safety
Marathon Man plans to call a halt – but not before he hits 160 races
