Ireland in favour of “air bridges”, jobless payment to be extended for months
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Ireland hopes to be able to recommend the resumption of air travel with a select number of countries in a number of weeks, Prime Minister Leo Varadkar said on Thursday, telling prospective holidaymakers “summer is not yet lost.”
Some European countries such as Germany, Spain and Austria plan to lift coronavirus-related border restrictions with neighbouring countries this month, something Ireland has been more cautious about as it slowly reopens its economy.
Ireland requires anyone entering the country to self-isolate for 14 days and foresees making its first step back to non-essential travel via so-called “air bridges” with other countries who share low levels of coronavirus infection.
“I hope that as the world returns to a new normality, we will see international air travel resume, in the first instance through air bridges with countries that have suppressed the virus to a similar extent as ours,” Varadkar told parliament.
“This however is some weeks away and it’s far too soon for anyone to book their holidays yet but summer is not yet lost.”
Ireland has reported 1,659 deaths related to just over 25,000 confirmed cases of COVID-19, the disease the novel coronavirus causes. The number of cases, deaths and admissions to hospital have all been falling in recent weeks.
The government will review the 14-day quarantine for travellers on June 18. Airlines, in particular Ireland’s Ryanair , have pushed back strongly against the rules that they say are impossible to implement.
Varadkar also reiterated on Thursday that he hopes to announce a speeding up of the reopening plan on Friday ahead of entering the second of five phases next week.
Via Reuters
Meanwhile, a temporary, higher jobless payment for Irish workers who lost their jobs as a result of the coronavirus will be extended for a further, unspecified number of months but reduced for those who were working part time, the prime minister said on Thursday.
“It will be extended for months, not weeks. Nobody who was working full time before the pandemic will see their payment cut,” Leo Varadkar told parliament, referring to the flat 350 euro weekly payment that 20% of the labour force now claims.
“Some people who were working part-time will see their payment reduced but their weekly payment will still be more than they were earning before the pandemic,” he said, adding that his cabinet would sign off on the details on Friday.
