There have been 3,628 new cases of Covid-19 reported by the Department of Health in the past 24 hours, in the Irish Republic.
There are 420 people in hospital who have tested positive for Covid-19, down 23 from yesterday, with 105 of these in intensive care units.
The Department of Health estimates that 35% of cases presently occurring are now infections caused by the new Omicron variant, leading the HSE to concentrate at scaling up ICU capacity, in a move to deal with any required surge in cases.
The Cabinet have agreed to implement an 8:00pm closing time for the hospitality and live events sectors, including indoor venues such as cinemas and theatres, in an effort to curb the spread of Covid-19 over the Christmas period.
The prospect of this curfew on pubs and restaurants has now sadly unleashed a backbench revolt in Government parties, with Fianna Fáil senators, led by Lisa Chambers and Fine Gael Senator Regina Doherty, targeting profit before lives, in their claims that this curfew is a step too far.
In particular Lisa Chambers insults our intelligence by stating that NPHET does not run this country. Rather a pity it does not, more people might still be alive when the pandemic has run its course. Shame on you as you hide away in your protective bubble, but remember, front-line workers in shops, pups, hospitals and the Gardaí all hold the right to vote, come next general election.
Everyone within our Republic has had an even chance to get vaccinated. Time now to just leave the unvaccinated to their ignorance and misinformation. We need to move away from those with qualifications in conspiracy, having graduated from the university of Facebook, and stop harking to unqualified people like Willie O’Dea, Lisa Chambers and Regina Doherty, but instead place our faith in science. There is no hitch on a hearse and no pockets in a shroud.
It may not be popular to say publicly within earshot of members of the hospitality sector at the moment, but our vaccination and booster programmes supported by government, are world class and Health Minister Stephen Donnelly, NPHET and HSE staff have done their very best in their efforts to protect us all.
In Northern Ireland a further 1,887 confirmed cases of the virus have also been confirmed by their Department of Health.
There were 312 Covid positive patients in northern hospitals today, of whom 34 remain in intensive care units.
Please, Please do take all measures necessary to ensure a safe Christmas in Co. Tipperary.
Minister Helen McEntee announces further temporary extension of immigration permissions.
Helen McEntee TD
Applies to permissions due to expire between 15th January 2022 and 31st May 2022.
Extension applies to people with permissions extended under previous notices.
For permissions registered by the Immigration Service in Dublin and An Garda Síochána nationwide.
The Minister for Justice, Mrs Helen McEntee TD, has today announced a further temporary extension of immigration and international protection permissions to May 31st, 2022.
This applies to permissions that are due to expire between January 15th 2022 and May 31st 2022 and includes permissions that have already been extended by the previous eight temporary extensions since March 2020.
Announcing the measure, Minister McEntee said:
“This Christmas, because of the evolving COVID-19 situation and ongoing public health guidelines, many immigration customers may fear they will lose their current immigration permission because of the potential impact of restrictions on the delivery of our services.
To remove some of the worry and stress caused by this uncertainty, I want to reassure people whose immigration permissions are due to expire shortly that your legal status in the country will continue to be maintained. To do this, I am introducing a further automatic extension to May 31st, 2022 for anyone already holding a valid permission.
This extension will benefit those who cannot get an appointment to register or renew an existing permission. However, I encourage anyone who needs to renew an existing permission, particularly Dublin-based customers who can do so online, to do so and not to wait until May when demand will be very high.
To help meet the existing demand for first-time registration appointments in the Dublin region, my Department is introducing a new Freephone telephone booking system in January to ensure those who need an appointment can access one.”
Further details on the Freephone system will be available on www.irishimmigration.ie when the service begins. A new online booking system will also be launched early in 2022.
Customers in the State who are entitled to receive a new Irish Residence Permit (IRP) card may continue to use their current expired card to enable them to depart from and return to Ireland in confidence over Christmas and until 15 January 2022.
Adult customers who plan to travel abroad beyond January 15th 2022 should apply to renew their immigration permission and receive a new IRP card. Otherwise, they must secure a re-entry visa in Ireland before travelling or in an overseas visa office before returning.
The current suspension of the re-entry visa requirement for any minors travelling with a legally resident parent or guardian, a measure which benefits up to 6,000 children and their families, will continue in line with the new extension until May 31st 2022.
The Department’s immigration service is experiencing a high demand for services and the Minister and her officials continue to implement initiatives to deliver benefits for customers.
Further outlining the latest improvements, Minister McEntee said,
“From today, Dublin-based customers who have a new passport and who wish to renew an immigration permission will be able to upload their passport biodata page online instead of attending the Registration Office in Burgh Quay. This move will free up staff resources and improve the processing times for existing applications.”
Immigration staff are processing 1,000 first-time registrations every week in the Registration Office in Burgh Quay, which is the maximum allowed under current public health guidelines, and the office is open from Monday to Thursday 8:00am to 8:30 pm and Friday 8:00am to 6:00pm.
Renewals outside of the Dublin area are processed by the Garda National Immigration Bureau through the Garda Station network. Information on the contact details for all the registration offices outside Dublin is available at: www.garda.ie/en/contact-us/station-directory
International students
International English Language Students who have already completed the maximum number of three language courses may continue to work in line with the Interim List of Eligible Programmes (ILEP) criteria until May 31st 2022, without enrolling in a further English language course.
However, they must register for a new qualifying immigration permission by May 31st 2022 to ensure they can remain in the State after that date.
Programme will open for applications on December 16th for eight weeks.
Up to 500 places available on the Programme.
Current or former Afghan nationals living in Ireland can apply for temporary residence for 4 close family members.
Priority will be given to those most vulnerable including: older people, children, women and girls and people with disabilities.
Helen McEntee TD
The Minister for Justice, Mrs Helen McEntee TD, has today confirmed that the Afghan Admission Programme will open for applications this Thursday, 16th December 2021.
The Programme will enable current or former Afghan nationals living legally in Ireland to apply to have their close family members, who are living in Afghanistan or who have recently fled to territories bordering Afghanistan, to apply for temporary residence in Ireland.
Up to 500 places will be available on the Programme, which is a key part of the Government’s response to the evolving humanitarian situation in Afghanistan.
Outlining the Programme, Minister McEntee said:
“I am delighted to now be able to confirm that we are opening the Afghan Admission Programme for applications. I am very conscious of the plight faced by the Afghan people following the collapse of the former Afghan government and the takeover by the Taliban.
A reversal of human rights, increased violence and fear of reprisals has led to a large number of displaced people seeking help. Understandably, it has also been a very worrying time for the Afghan community living in Ireland as they fear for the safety of their family members in Afghanistan or displaced to neighbouring countries.
In processing applications, we will be prioritising those who are especially vulnerable and whose freedom and safety is most at risk, like older people, children, single female parents, single women and girls and people with disabilities. We will also give priority to people whose previous employment exposes them to greater risk, for example UN and EU employees and people who worked for civil society organisations.”
The Programme is part of a co-ordinated national response, in conjunction with the Department of Foreign Affairs and the Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth, to the crisis in Afghanistan.
Welcoming the announcement, Minister of State at the Department of Justice, Mr James Browne TD, said,
Mr James Browne TD.
“In opening the Programme for applications we are delivering on the commitment made by the Government on behalf of the Irish people. I want to thank the Afghan community in Ireland for their patience while we worked to finalise the details of the Programme.
Our objective is to ensure that applications can be processed as quickly as possible and the criteria have been developed with this in mind. I look forward to welcoming the first family members to Ireland under the Programme in the near future”.
As part of this response, an additional 500 places have been made available through the Irish Refugee Protection Programme for refugees from Afghanistan since August 31st 2021. The Department of Justice has provided the visa waivers to facilitate their travel to Ireland.
The Department has also provided assistance to Afghan nationals through the statutory family reunification provisions.
Minister McEntee concluded,
“Family reunification avenues have already enabled many Afghan nationals to join their families here in Ireland. So far this year, 110 Afghan nationals have been granted a statutory Family Reunification permission under the International Protection Act 2015. My Department has also issued 102 Join Family visas to Afghan citizens since August 2021.
Combined with the 500 available places on the Programme that we are announcing today, this represents a very high level of support for the 1,200 strong Afghan community currently living in Ireland.’’
The Afghan Admission Programme is guided by the previous Syrian Humanitarian Assistance Programme (SHAP) and the IRPP Humanitarian Assistance Programme (IHAP) schemes, which also provided for the nomination of limited numbers of close family members.
The Programme will open for applications on December 16th 2021 and applications will be accepted for a period of eight weeks until 10 February 2022. The application form and guidance material to help with completing an application will be available on the Department’s Irish Immigration website [www.irishimmigration.ie] on December 16th 2021.
You will remember, Dolores Cahill was one of 11 candidates to contest the 2020 Irish General Election, held on Saturday February 8th, 2020, with none of their candidates being successfully elected. Dolores Cahill, claiming to represent the electorate of County of Tipperary, came second-last in the Tipperary constituency, with a miserable 521 first preference votes. Following this election failure, her agents ceased to function failing in the removal of her election posters, for almost one year.
A spokeswoman for Meta, Facebook’s parent company, has confirmed that her Facebook page has now finally been removed by the social media giant, as part of its promise to fight harmful Covid-19 misinformation.
Since the Covid-19 pandemic began Ms Cahill has consistently remained one of the most prominent purveyors of misinformation not just in Ireland but also Internationally.
Just last month, Ms Cahill was fined £2,500 (sterling) by a London court, for defiantly holding anti-lockdown protests in breach of agreed Covid restrictions. Ms Cahill is no longer an employee and lecturer at University College Dublin (UCD), with her details having been removed from the University’s online staff directory. UCD had faced criticism in the past for not taking action earlier against Ms Cahill over false and misleading claims. In 2020, Ms Cahill was asked to resign as Vice Chair of the Scientific Committee of the Innovative Medicines Initiative (IMI), latter a partnership between the European Commission and the drugs industry.
At the start of the pandemic, her Facebook page was followed by about 3,500 people, but by July 1st, 2021, her following had grown to include some 460,000 misguided individuals.
Minsters McEntee and Harris launch Further Education and Training guide for domestic and sexual abuse victims.
Guidance on what further education and training options and back-to-work training is available.
Information not previously readily accessible for victims or NGOs.
Initiative is part of 16 Days of Activism international campaign.
Minister for Justice Mrs Helen McEntee TD and Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science Mr Simon Harris TD have today launched a guidance document to help victims of domestic and sexual abuse access Further Education and Training related opportunities.
“We wanted to examine how all victims of domestic, sexual and gender-based violence can access education pathways, and provide a range of opportunities in this area.
The information detailing what further education and training is available may not have been easily accessible to various groups in the sector working with victims, or indeed to the victims themselves.
Frontline services engaging with victims will now have a nationwide list of the Education & Training Boards (ETBs) Adult Guidance Information Service contact points and details on the type of Further Education and Training (FET) opportunities that are available.
This is another step in implementing ‘Supporting a Victim’s Journey’, our plan to ensure victims are treated with respect and dignity and supported throughout the criminal justice process’’
Domestic Violence Refuges and Support Services and Rape Crisis Centres have direct contact with some of the most vulnerable and traumatised victims and have a key role in matching victims with the available training and other opportunities.
Minister Harris stated,
“Access to education starts with information. It takes great courage for victims of domestic violence and sexual or gender based violence to reach out for help but when they do, our education and training system must be ready to help them.
Further education and training is available in every county in Ireland. It can offer any person, regardless of any previous level of education, a pathway to take them as far as they want to go. The range of courses expands from law to childcare, to hairdressing and ICT. There is something there for everyone.
Today’s announcement brings together key information on what is available and how to access it, and it is there for you when you need it, for whatever you need it for. Throughout life, regardless of present or past circumstances educational opportunities are available for everyone right across country. I would encourage support services and all who come into contact with survivors to use the guide to ensure the breadth of education and training options are known to survivors and their families.”
The guide, which is for use by frontline service providers for victims of domestic, sexual and gender-based violence, contains a nationwide list of Education & Training Boards Ireland Guidance Counsellors’ contact details and details on the type of Further Education and Training (FET) available as well as where further information and details can be found online.
The 16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence is an annual international campaign that started on 25 November, the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, and runs until 10 December, Human Rights Day.
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