Lengthy deliberations sees cabinet sign off on 101-day Covid-19 recovery plan
The government signed off on a 101-day plan to reopen the Irish society and economy after a lengthy cabinet meeting on Friday.
The meeting lasted for over two hours, but was not described as being overly contentious, sources said. While it was heavy on detail, it is understood that this was down to ministers seeking clarification on exactly what the road map to easing restrictions would entail.
Sources say that the meeting did not see a repeat of a disagreement at the cabinet table earlier this week, when the "civil liberty wing" of the government argued for an easing of restrictions on movements.
It is understood that while a slight majority of the cabinet was in favour of easing the restrictions before Friday, the National Public Health Emergency Team (NPHET) advice has been followed "nearly to the letter".
That "civil liberty wing" had made representations particularly on the impact the lockdown was having on older people and businesses like outdoor construction, where physical distancing is possible.
Both of those groups were given some easing of restrictions in the road map.
However, it is understood that these measures were broadly accepted as they had been approved by NPHET.
"All ministers contributed, but it was a very productive meeting," a source said.
"It was focused on detail, but it wasn’’t that people were looking to pick holes in the document, they just wanted to understand it a bit more clearly and contribute ideas where they felt they could."
In a rare move, ministers were not given the advice from the NPHET ahead of time, with priority given to ensuring that the exact details of the document didn’’t leak before the Taoiseach Leo Varadkar could give his address to the nation, which was not followed by questions from the media.
Cabinet will meet again on Saturday, with a particular focus on devising business supports, Mr Varadkar said.
"Getting people back to work and re-starting businesses will not be easy. I know that. It won’t be possible for people to just pick up where they left off. Businesses are going to need help to get going again.
"So, tomorrow, Cabinet will meet again to agree further actions to help our businesses to restart, reconnect and rehire staff who have been laid off or furloughed. "
Mr Varadkar said that a "national protocol" for the reopening of businesses in a safe manner was also being created with input from trade unions, employers, the Health and Safety Authority and the HSE.
Cabinet also signed off on extending two social protection measures which were due to expire next week. The €350 Covid-19 illness benefit and the waiving of the three-day waiting period for those claiming Jobseeker’’s Benefit have both been extended.
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