Q&A Covid 19 and you

Social distancing and  Hand washing are two very effective ways of preventing the spread of Corona virus/ Covid 19. Social distancing  means that you maintain a safe distance from one another.  Hand washing  means frequent and complete washing of hands for a period of over 20 seconds.

On a wider scale adjusting to the new reality means fundamental changes to a persons life. In this post I’m trying to address some questions that are frequently asked and provide answers as accurately as possible from current information. None of these questions relate to medical treatment of the crisis, nor should anyone other a medical professional try to answer that!

This page will be updated as more information comes to hand. If you have a question, PM me!

Social Welfare

I’ve lost my job what can I do?

Anyone who has lost their full or part time job and is aged between 18 and 66 is entitled to an immediate payment of €350pw (COVID-19 Pandemic Unemployment Payment ). Your employer is able to top this up. This payment applies to students and all workers regardless as to whether you are an EU citizen or not however it will only be paid if you live in the jurisdiction. Apply online at welfare.ie

My job is secure however I am required to sell-isolate, Can I claim social welfare support?

Yes, only if your employer is not paying you. You should immediately apply for illness Benefit at an enhanced rate of €305 per week. Phone your GP and ask someone to drop the completed application to Intreo, Anne St, Wexford.

I want to collect a welfare payment but I’m ill and can’t go out?

A temporary agent form is available at welfare.ie Download it from welfare.ie, print it off and sign to authorise a designated person to collect your payment. Otherwise ring the local office and it will be posted to you.

Will I have to turn up each week to collect my payment?
No. Welfare is now being paid fortnightly.

SME
I'm self-employed and my business has had to close because of Covid-19, What can be done for me?
The temporary payment mentioned above has now been extended to include the self employed. Contact welfare.ie to apply

My companies income has dropped, we can't afford to pay workers yet we need to function. What help is there?

If company has had drop of 25% in income the Government will pay 70% of net wages up to max of €410 per week if company willing to pay the remainder of that staff members weekly wage

My business is down and I can't get a loan from my bank to keep me going?
If your business is impacted or may be impacted by COVID-19 resulting in a reduction of 15% or more in actual or projected turnover or profit, AND you are having difficulty in accessing  finance from commercial lending providers, the MFI COVID-19 Business Loan may be able to help your business. Contact Wexford County Council and ask to speak to the Local Enterprise Officer.

My business needs additional funding. Can central government help?
Strategic Banking Corporation of Ireland has a fund of €450M to loan so as to provide liquidity to SME's, The minimum loan is €25,000 and has a maximum interest rate of 4% over a maximum term of 3 years

A second scheme called the future growth loan scheme is designed to loan tranches of funds and is paid back over 8 years at a rate of 4.5%. Earliest repayments cover the interest owed on the loans, More details can be found at https://dbei.gov.ie/

Housing

I’ve lost my job and can’t pay rent. Can I be evicted from my home?

If you are a tenant of Wexford County Council contact the council immediately. The rent will be readjusted in line with the financial reality. If you are in a private tenancy contact your landlord. Emergency legislation passed by the Oireachtas prevents any eviction during this crisis.

I’ve lost my job and can’t pay my mortgage. Will that affect my relationship with my bank?

Ring your bank and explain what has happened. Financial institutions have agreed a 3 month break in these circumstances will be provided for mortgage holders. However, such leniency does not apply to car and other personal loans. If you don’t interact with the bank you run the risk of damaging your credit rating if you do not meet with payments

Education

What will happen to state exams?

Oral exams have been shelved at Leaving Cert and this years exams will revolve around the written element due later in the year.   Practical Leaving Cert exams have been deferred until later in the year also. This decision does not affect work already due at Junior Cycle such as Classroom Based Assessments.

What is the status of Leaving and Junior Cert Exams due in June?
The Leaving Cert is deferred until late July or early August. A redesigned exam time table will be published.  Final arrangements for the exams, the exam centres, social distancing and other measures will all be determined by the State Examinations Commission.  Junior Certs have been cancelled to be replaced by a proposed exam to be held at a later stage in the new school year.

When will schools re-open?

Schools will not return until a decision has been taken by Boards of Management following advice from the Department of Education & Skills. The immediate priority following the return of school will be dictated by the impact of the virus on the school community.

How will this affect a CAO application?
Colleges have already indicated that 3rd level course for present students will re-commence on time but that first year courses will commence later than usual.

Policing

How does the Covid 19 outbreak affect policing?

Garda stations remain open and additional garda personnel have been deployed to assist within communities. Additional emergency laws provide for gardaí to arrest people that frequently disobey the 2km restriction or who fail to comply with a direction to return home

Transport

Can I use a bus or train as normal?

Wexford Bus schedules have been reduced on route 340 to Dublin and services to Carlow and the Castlebridge suspended.  To comply with social distancing they are limiting capacity to keep passengers a safe distance apart. Bus Eireann and Irish Rail services run to a much reduced timetable. Wexford Railway Station only opens 10 minutes prior to departure.

Post Offices

Can I collect my pension, child benefit or other entitlements?

Yes. Post Offices are continuing to provide a service within the parameters of social distancing. If you are unable to collect the payment the Post Office will retain it for longer than normal in the current circumstances. If you are unable to collect a temporary agent form can authorise someone to collect on your behalf. Wexford Post Office remained open longer to facilitate pensioners on Friday last. Ring to see if this may be repeated.

Communications

Where is the best place to find out what is happening in Wexford?

Wexford People and South East Radio provide accurate and up to date information in traditional and online formats. Wexfordtoday.ie is another online news specialist.

Will eircom’s proposed new charges come into effect on March 31^st?

Eircom have announced that they have decided to suspend their decision to implement charges for email addresses until after the current crisis has passed so there’s no need to rush to close down or alter email addresses.

Wexford County Council

Do I still have to pay rates while my business is closed?

If your business has closed contact the council and let them know. Councils will not be sending out anymore rates bills during the current emergency. If your business is in the retail. Hospitality, leisure or childcare sector you can defer payment of bills already sent for 3 months. However some businesses are trading still and they are required to pay bills received. The council will deal with businesses experiencing difficulties on a case by case basis.

Will the council services continue during the crisis?

Partly. Parks and especially playgrounds are closed given the likelihood that social distancing rules may be compromised. Libraries in the county are also shut. Loans can be renewed online.

Housing, Environmental, Community services all continue to be delivered. District offices in the main towns are open. Car parks at local beaches and beauty spots have been closed.

Telling the passengers where to get off!

Margaret Thatcher used to say that the definition of failure was a man in his 30's taking a bus.  The news that Bus Eireann are planning to reduce Expressway services in Wexford shouldn’t come as a huge surprise to anyone. Bus Eireann run a route 5 to Waterford from Dublin along the N25/N30/N80/N81.  Not the most direct route and certainly not the fastest.  But one that connects a lot of villages with big towns. The route doesn’t hit dual carriage way until it reaches Tallaght.  By comparison you can travel from Waterford to Dublin on the M9 in about 2 hours comfortably.  It’s a no brainer if you want to go from Dublin to Waterford by Bus Eireann as to which route you’d take.  Route 5 is for the axe.

Many local communities are fearful of the impact of downgrading of service and ending of dropping off points.   Bus Eireann claim that the Expressway service does not receive a subvention and as a consequence must be profitable.  As a consequence they see routes terminating at Dublin Airport and linking to big urban areas the future for their fleet investment.  Elderly passengers on bus passes don’t seem to rate with the boys in Broadstone.  They are feeling the raw heat of competition from the private sector on their neck.

It’s very hard to feel sympathy for Bus Eireann.  For years the CIE group has gone to the government with a begging bowl looking to be bailed out when in fact they could have look at how to configure services to attract passengers.  The presumption that everyone wants to go to or from Dublin is wrong.  It’s possible with great time delays to go from Bunclody to Wexford return by bus. It takes almost 2 hours unless you want to take the only direct bus that departs at 19.50 and arrives at 20.40 but few appointments in Wexford are this late!  On the other hand if you want to go from Camolin to New Ross it’ll take as long as 3 hours in the morning although about an hour later in the day.  In both cases the journey is about 30 miles.  Clearly for a service branded “Expressway” connecting passengers for destinations other than Dublin isn’t high up the agenda.

Simply by interconnecting services in Wexford passenger numbers using these services could be higher.  Simply by listening to councils, numbers could be higher too.  As a councillor I asked Bus Eireann to run a service between Wexford and Carlow.  Both big towns with 20,000 passengers each, connected by a good road with the potential to interchange bus passengers for Kilkenny.  Carlow IT has a Wexford campus with plenty of students and a market. Sadly I was wasting my time.

At least there is the potential for another operator to tender for the route.  Follow the N81 to Dublin and you come to Tallaght with its IT, Square Shopping Complex and Hospital.  There is a market heading to this side of Dublin from Co Wexford and Carlow. So why did Bus Eireann fail?

That’s for the National Transport Authority to decide.  Any change in service must get the approval of the authority.  There needs to be a business case to reduce services, the NTA will have to listen to the case put to retain the service.  In that case Bus Eireann’s suggestion that it will end the service is conjecture if Wexford County Council want to fight the decision by putting the business case to retain and interconnect the counties services.

It’ll be the first test of council’s role in economic development.