DARRAGH O'BRIEN TD
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What if I haven’t received a payment as expected?

31/3/2020

 
​
  • 1. Customer who have not received a Pandemic Unemployment Payment as expected on Tuesday March 31st
  • 2. Applications that did not qualify:
  • 3. Applications with Incorrect Details Submitted
  • 4. Re-Apply
Customer who have not received a Pandemic Unemployment Payment as expected on Tuesday March 31stThe Department has processed all applications received for the emergency Covid-19 Pandemic Payment received until close of business on Thursday 26th March. Payments for over 283,000 customer have been made into customers bank accounts today Tuesday 31 March 2020.
If you have submitted an application for this emergency payment and have not received a payment into your bank account on Tuesday 31 March, it is because either
1. Your application did not qualify for a Covid-19 Pandemic Unemployment Payment; or
2. The details you submitted did not enable us to make a payment.
Applications that did not qualify:If your application was deemed ineligible it was therefore not approved for one of the following reasons;
  • You are not aged between 18 and 66;
  • You have not become fully unemployed;
  • You lost your employment before the 13th March and are therefore not eligible for the emergency payment. Anyone who lost employment on are after the 13th March is entitled to the Covid-19 Pandemic Unemployment Payment. If you lost your employment before this you should now submit a jobseeker’s application through www.MyWelfare.ie if you have not already done so.
  • You are being paid by your employer using the Temporary Covid-19 Wage Subsidy Scheme operated by the Revenue Commissioners;
Please note:
The Department undertakes control checks on all applications (which involve working with the Revenue Commissioners) to ensure eligible applications are processed into payment.
The Department will write to you to explain which of the above reasons applies to your application. However, as we are faced with very high volumes of customer applications it will take some time for us to contact you.
Applications with Incorrect Details SubmittedA number of applications the Department received did not include correct details in order to enable us to make a payment.
In the majority of cases the reasons for this are;
  • Incorrect Bank Account details entered; or
  • Non-Irish Bank Account details supplied (the Department does not make payments to Revolut or N26 bank accounts); or
  • Incorrect identity details (e.g. PPSN or date of birth) supplied; or
  • The Application was submitted from a non-Irish address.
The Department will contact individuals who details are incomplete before the next payments are generated later this week. Please note that we will never ask you to confirm bank details over the phone.
Re-ApplyHowever if you think you may have incorrectly submitted the above details and you meet all the qualifying conditions set out above for the Covid-19 Pandemic Unemployment Payment and you did not receive a payment on Tuesday 31 March 2020 then we request that you submit another application through www.MyWelfare.ie .
Please note re-applications can only be done online through www.mywelfare.ie

UPDATE: COVID-19 rail service update from Iarnród Éireann

30/3/2020

 
"As an essential service provider, Iarnród Éireann continues to operate services, right across the network with some minor exceptions.

Today, with the approval of the National Transport Authority - and as part of schedule revisions across public transport - we began operating a revised schedule.

The revised schedule does see a reduced frequency, but it will ensure we can provide a continued and reliable service to customers. This takes account of any possible escalation of COVID-19 or self-isolation amongst employees given the increase in cases of COVID-19 in the country, and supply chain issues being faced for train maintenance.

However, we are maximising train sizes wherever possible, and from monitoring passenger journeys this morning, this is ensuring that physical distancing is possible on board.

We have also today begun to introduce seat covers to assist in maintaining social distancing measures, see attached photo as example.

We will continue to operate in line with government guideline, throughout the Covid-19 crisis, to ensure that healthcare workers, those working in other essential industries and services and those caring for the elderly and vulnerable, will be able to travel to where they need to get to.

In line with government guidelines, we are advising against all non-essential travel at this time. Intensive and increased cleaning regimes are being employed onboard trains and at stations, focusing on customer and staff touchpoints, and we are also encouraging customers to avoid cash transactions at booking offices: online booking, LeapCard and paying at ticket machines are available to customers.

We will continue to regularly update you throughout this crisis, but for further details, please visit www.irishrail.ie"

If you have any questions please don’t hesitate to contact me or my team.
📧 darragh.obrien@oireachtas.ie
📞 01-6183802 edit.

List of essential service providers under new public health guidelines

28/3/2020

 
Click here to
  • 1. Agriculture and Fishing
  • 2. Manufacturing
  • 3. Repair and installation of Machinery and Equipment
  • 4. Electricity, Gas and Water
  • 5. Construction
  • 6. Wholesale and Retail Trade
  • 7. Transport Storage and Communication
  • 8. Accommodation and Food Services
  • 9. Information and Communications
  • 10. Financial and legal activities
  • 11. Professional, Scientific and Technical activities
  • 12. Rental and Leasing Activities
  • 13. Administrative and Support Services
  • 14. Public Administration and Defence
  • 15. Human health and social work activities
  • 16. Community/Voluntary Services
The government has decided that everyone should stay at home until 12 April 2020, except for the following situations:
  • to travel to and from work, or for purposes of work, only where the work is an essential health, social care or other essential service and cannot be done from home
  • to shop for essential food, beverage and household goods or collect a meal
  • 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
  • to take brief individual physical exercise within 2 kilometres of your home, which may include children from your household, as long as you adhere to strict 2 metre physical distancing
  • for farming purposes, that is food production or care of animals
As stated in previous guidance, all employees should work remotely from home if at all possible.
The purpose of this document is to provide guidance to employers and employees as to what constitutes an essential service where workers cannot work from home and have no option but to travel to work.
In addition, workers in the categories of essential services set out in the attached appendix are permitted to travel to work, subject to compliance with the guidance below.
If you carry out an activity that is necessary for the continued provision of an essential service by another organisation or you are part of an essential supply chain, you should continue to carry out that activity. To the maximum extent possible, that should be done remotely.
The government also recognises that many companies in Ireland are critical to global supply chains that are responding to the COVID-19 crisis, and many companies also perform critical global roles in other aspects of medicine, as well as security, cyber, cloud and data centre infrastructure. It is intended that these essential global roles are encompassed within this national guidance.
What employers should do
  • refer to this guidance to decide whether your organisation is providing an essential service; it is not necessary to seek official authorisation
  • if you are providing an essential service, you should identify those employees (including sub-contractors and so on) who are essential to the provision of that service and notify them. This can be done by category of employee or by individual; it could include all employees of the organisation
  • if you are providing an essential service, latest public health guidance should be followed at all times

What employees should do
  • if your employer notifies you that you are an essential employee, or that you belong to a category of essential employees, you are permitted to travel to and from work
  • when travelling to and from work, you should at all times bring with you either a work identification or a letter from your employer indicating that you are an essential employee, as well as one other form of identification
  • If you are self-employed, a farmer or agricultural worker, or a member of the clergy, you should carry one form of identification with you at all times
If you are a volunteer who is working as part of the national community response, you are permitted to travel for that purpose, for example, if you are delivering food, supplies or medicine to a person who is cocooned or vulnerable. The Local Government emergency response teams will co-ordinate that response at local level.
Business Continuity and ResilienceAll organisations who provide essential services should have business continuity and resilience plans in place. This should take account of the possibility that key workers or key facilities may be impacted by COVID-19.
Non Essential ServicesIf you are not engaged in the provision of essential services, then you are not permitted to travel to and from work until 12 April 2020.
There will be a grace period until 6pm on Monday 30 March for people who need to make necessary arrangements to wind down their activities in an orderly way. This should however be done in a way that minimises travel and personal interaction as much as possible.
In exceptional circumstances, it is accepted that some extra time will be needed for a wind down of activity, or necessary for a site to continue to operate at a reduced level of activity, for example in complex manufacturing processes or very large construction projects.
ReviewThis Guidance will be kept under ongoing review, and will be updated as required.
Services provided in the following areas are considered to be essential.
Agriculture and Fishing
  • farmers
  • farm labourers
  • farm relief service workers
  • others involved directly or indirectly in crop and animal production and related activities (including veterinary services), and workers involved in fishing
Manufacturing
  • the manufacture of food and beverage products
  • the manufacture of prepared animal feeds
  • the manufacture of work-wear apparel or footwear
  • the manufacture of pulp, paper and paperboard and wood
  • the printing and reproduction of newspapers and other media services
  • the manufacturing of coke and refined petroleum products
  • the manufacturing of alumina; chemicals and chemical products
  • the manufacture of pharmaceutical products and pharmaceutical preparations
  • the manufacture of products necessary for the supply chain of essential services; computer, electronic and optical products including semi-conductors; electrical equipment, machinery and other equipment (including agricultural and forestry machinery); medical devices; and medical and dental equipment and supplies
Repair and installation of Machinery and Equipment
  • the supply, repair and installation of machinery and equipment and industrial machinery and equipment for essential services
Electricity, Gas and Water
  • electric power generation, transmission and distribution
  • extraction and distribution of gas
  • water collection, treatment and supply
  • sewerage; waste collection, remediation activities and other waste management treatment and disposal activities
Construction
  • essential health and related projects relevant to the COVID-19 crisis, and supplies necessary for such projects
  • repair/construction of critical road and utility infrastructure
  • delivery of emergency services to businesses and homes on an emergency call-out basis in areas such as electrical, plumbing, glazing and roofing
Wholesale and Retail Trade
  • retail services in accordance with the separate “Updated Essential Retail Outlets” list
  • wholesale and distribution services necessary for the sale of food, beverages, fuel, medicines, medical products and devices and essential household products; takeaways and food delivery services
Transport Storage and Communication
  • land transport (for example, bus, rail and taxi services)
  • road, rail, sea and air freight
  • sea and air passenger services; ports and airports
  • warehousing and support activities for transportation including cargo-handling; postal and courier activities; network control and critical maintenance (including roads); and safety related functions
Accommodation and Food Services
  • hotels or similar providing essential accommodation (including homeless, direct provision and related services)
  • food and beverage service activities in accordance with the separate essential retail outlets list or for supply to a business engaged in an essential service
Information and Communications
  • the publishing of newspapers, journals and periodicals as well as video, television programme production, sound recording, radio and television broadcasting; wired and satellite and telecommunications activities; internet and cloud providers; data centres and related services
Financial and legal activities
  • banking and financial services (including banks, credit unions and post offices)
  • accountancy, legal and insurance services necessary to support essential services and vulnerable people
Professional, Scientific and Technical activities
  • engineering, technical testing activities and analysis
  • scientific research and development activities
  • regulation, inspection and certification services necessary to support essential services
Rental and Leasing Activities
  • rental and lease of cars
  • light motor vehicles and trucks necessary to support the provision of essential services
Administrative and Support ServicesWhere necessary to support other essential services:
  • employment placement and human resources associated with the recruitment and deployment of workers
  • security activities to assist in the delivery of essential services and the securing of premises closed to the public
  • cleaning of buildings and industrial cleaning activities; business support activities which are necessary to support essential services included on this list; payroll and payment services necessary for the operation of businesses; data processing, hosting and related activities
Public Administration and DefencePublic administration activities necessary to support essential services and provision of social protection benefits (including Civil Service and Local Government):
  • An Garda Siochana, Garda Staff and the Garda Reserve
  • public order, safety, fire service and ambulance activities
  • the Defence Forces
  • emergency call answering service to ensure administration of justice
  • Prison services and Child Detention services
  • cyber-security
  • regulatory processes and certification required to ensure supply chains, food, medicine and general process safety
  • operation of botanical gardens, parks, forests and nature reserves
  • funeral services
  • religious personnel
  • office-holders and public representatives
Human health and social work activities
  • hospital services
  • paramedical and essential therapy activities
  • public health activities (including all those deployed to contract tracing and COVID-19 testing services)
  • laboratory services
  • drug treatment and addiction services
  • hospice services
  • pharmacy services
  • primary care, general and specialist medical practice activities provided by public and private providers
  • emergency dental practice activities
  • blood donation service
  • residential care activities (including nursing care, mental health and substance abuse, elderly and persons with disabilities, children’s residential services)
  • homecare home help and other community services
  • social work and social care activities (including disability services, mental health, child protection and welfare, domestic, sexual and gender based violence, homeless services including outreach)
  • ambulance/pre-hospital emergency care services
  • minor injury units
  • maternity services
  • health, social work, environmental, food safety regulatory activities
Community/Voluntary Services
  • community and voluntary workers, working in a publicly commissioned service, not otherwise included on the list, deployed to assist in the delivery of essential services
  • volunteer services operating under the local authority emergency management framework in accordance with public health guidance
edit.

Updated list of Essential Retail Outlets (27 March 2020)

28/3/2020

 
  • 1. Essential retail outlets
  • 2. Businesses that can only offer emergency call-out or delivery services
  • 3. Physical distancing measures that must be adhered to
The National Public Health Emergency Team has recommended that all non-essential retail outlets will close to members of the public and all other retail outlets are to implement physical distancing.
To assist the public and business owners the following is an indicative list of what are considered essential retail outlets
Essential retail outlets1. Retail and wholesale sale of food, beverages and newspapers in non-specialised and specialised stores
2. Retail sale of household consumer products necessary to maintain the safety and sanitation of residences and businesses
3. Pharmacies/Chemists and retailers providing pharmaceuticals, pharmaceutical or dispensing services
4. Retail sale of selling medical and orthopaedic goods in specialised stores
5. Fuel stations and heating fuel providers
6. Retail sale of essential items for the health and welfare of animals, including animal feed and medicines, animal food, pet food and animal supplies including bedding
7. Laundries and Drycleaners
8. Banks, Post Offices and Credit Unions
9. Retail sale of safety supply stores (work clothes, Personal Protective Equipment, for example)
Businesses that can only offer emergency call-out or delivery servicesIt is recognised that there may be emergency needs arising in a number of areas, the following retailers who can offer an emergency call-out or delivery service can continue to operate on that basis ONLY:
  • opticians/optometrists
  • retailers involved in the repair of motor vehicles, motorcycles and bicycle repair and related facilities (tyre sales and repairs for example)
  • hardware stores, builder’s merchants and stores that provide hardware products necessary for home and business maintenance, sanitation and farm equipment, supplies and tools essential for gardening/farming/agriculture
  • retail sale of office products and services for individuals working from home and for businesses
  • retailers providing electrical, IT and phone sales, repair and maintenance services for home
Physical distancing measures that must be adhered toEssential Retail Outlets must implement physical distancing measures:
  • ensure adequate distancing between customers and shop assistants in line with public health guidelines
  • only let people into the store in small groups and ensure spaces are not crowed
  • manage queue control inside and outside the door to maintain necessary physical distance
  • all Essential Retail Outlets are encouraged to provide online services where that is possible and appropriate to minimise footfall

Emergency Legislation Update

27/3/2020

 

Emergency Measures in the Public Interest (Covid 19) Bill 2020

26/3/2020

 
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Darragh O'Brien TD


Address

Darragh O'Brien TD
Leinster House
Kildare Street
Dublin 2

Telephone

T:  01-6183802

Email

At present, and as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, I am not holding my regular meetings across our towns and villages in North County Dublin. However, both I and my office are happy to speak to you and assist you with any issues you may have.

For all housing, planning or heritage related queries please don’t hesitate to contact:
Email: minister@housing.gov.ie
Phone: 01-8882000
Postal address: Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage, Custom House, Dublin 1, D01 W6X0
 
For all constituency related queries please don’t hesitate to contact:
Email: Darragh.obrien@oireachtas.ie
Phone: 01-6183802
Postal address: Dáil Éireann, Leinster House, Kildare Street, Dublin 2.
 



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