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CHRISTMAS SHOPPING STARTS in earnest today as retailers open their doors back up to customers after six weeks of closure due to Covid-19 restrictions.
As part of the government’s plan to move the country out of Level 5 restrictions all retail can reopen as well as hairdressers, gyms, cinemas, museums and libraries. From Friday, restaurants and gastro-pubs can also reopen to serve customers indoors.
Public health officials have asked people to acknowledge their own personal responsibility in keeping transmission levels low and to stay away from crowded streets, shops and public transport.
Chief Medical Officer Dr Tony Holohan said transmission levels are “very different” than the low levels when Ireland exited its first lockdown.
“There are going to be opportunities or circumstances where there is more in the way of crowding, more interaction with people and so on,” he said.
But one is not compelled to get on a crowded bus, or walk down a crowded street or go into a crowded shop. It’s really important that people begin to recognise these things and begin to take actions themselves.
He said the retail environment has for the most part shown significant commitment to implementing public health measures. These settings were not closed down in Level 5 because they contributed significantly to the spread of infection, he said, but more to drive down the total volume of socialisation in society.
Dr Holohan said it is now up up to each individual to take on board the basic public health advice and “recognise circumstances that constitute danger of transmission”.
“Stay away from a crowded shop, stay away from a crowded street, stay out of a crowded bus.”
Liz Canavan, assistant general secretary at the Department of the Taoiseach, also asked customers to “play their part”.
She advised people to support their local retailers and remember they can still shop online and collect their goods or have them delivered.
“If you do go out shopping, wrap up warm in case you have to queue. Try to shop at off-peak times and remember to keep a two-metre distance from other shoppers.
“You must wear your mask in store for your safety and for that of other shoppers and staff. Try to keep your shopping time to a minimum and remember to use the hand sanitiser on entering and leaving the shop.”
Extended opening hours
With large numbers of people expected at stores across the country today, some retailers have extended their opening hours to better spread customer numbers across the day.
Penneys will re-open its 36 stores, with those located in city centres and major shopping centres to trade until 10pm on weekdays and stores on main streets in towns and in town shopping centres to trade until 9pm.
This morning Penneys stores in Dundrum Town Centre and Blanchardstown Centre will be open from 7am and will trade right through to closing time at 10pm tomorrow.
The retailer has said it will have extensive safety measures in place including strict social distancing protocols, limits on the number of customers allowed in store and hand sanitiser stations on entry.
Retail Ireland said the next few weeks will be “make or break” for many retailers.
“Every day matters. It’s crucial that customers support those businesses that have been badly hit by Covid restrictions,” Retail Ireland director Arnold Dillon said.
“Public safety is the absolute priority. Retailers have gone to enormous lengths to protect staff and customers.”
Public transport
Under Level 3, public transport can move from 25% to 50% capacity. The National Transport Authority (NTA) has said with the resumption of retail, some hospitality and other activities, and given the fact that schools are still in term, it anticipates demand will increase this week.
It has asked people to only use public transport for necessary journeys and to avoid peak-time travel.
“If particular pressure points emerge in the coming days, NTA and the transport operators will seek to respond, and address them at local level if there is scope to do so.
We would ask people to avoid travelling at times of the day when a lot of school children and essential workers are using public transport, and only to use public transport for essential purposes.
The NTA also asked people to bear in mind there may be an increase in private cars on the roads which could cause delays to services. The authority advised intending passengers to allow more time for their journey and asked them to remain respectful towards transport workers.
Last week, general secretary of the National Bus and Rail Union (NBRU) Dermot O’Leary said additional retail patronage cannot be allowed to “cause an overload of buses and trains, potentially leading to confrontation between commuters and/or frontline transport staff or create Covid-19 hotpots on public transport”.
He said the network can, at short notice and with governemnt support, produce a one-off bus and train timetable which would facilitate a longer shopping spread. O’Leary said transport staff are ready and willing to assist towards alleviating “the expected tsunami of people” that will venture out to shop and socialise ahead of Christmas.
Disappointment for hoteliers and publicans
While last week’s announcement of a move into Level 3 was a welcome reprieve for many businesses, some in the hospitality sector are still suffering.
From today hotels can re-open to guests for social stays and from Friday their restaurants can open up to customers who are not guests. However no inter-county travel is allowed until 18 December.
Last week Tim Fenn, Chief Executive of the Irish Hotels Federation said the decision to delay travel between counties was “short-sighted”.
He said the sector “remains effectively in extended lockdown” as a result.
“There is little difference between the level three announced and level five in terms of how hotels operate. Hotels could have played an important role in facilitating a safer reopening by providing very safe, highly controlled, spacious environments for people stay independent of their family home setting.
We should be viewed as an important part of the infrastructure in enabling a safer Christmas. While we welcome the easing of restriction on indoor dining, it is deeply disappointing that the government has chosen to compress family visits to such a short window at either side of Christmas.
“This will inevitably concentrate the number of gatherings in people’s homes over a short period, which poses additional avoidable risks.”
Publicans are also unhappy with the tighter restrictions on their businesses in this version of Level 3. Only pubs that serve food prepared on their own premises can re-open from Friday, meaning bars that adapted their business model and linked up with external food businesses to serve meals can not re-open before Christmas.
And so-called ‘wet pubs’ will not be able to re-open their doors for the festive season.
The Vintners’ Federation of Ireland (VFI) described the decision to keep pubs closed while allowing food premises to reopen as “a stunning act of government hypocrisy”.
“There is scant logic in permitting one type of venue open and not the other,” VFI said.
The government decision to spilt the trade in two will cause huge distress to publicans and their staff who have already borne the heaviest burden since first closing back in March. Over 22,000 people will now continue on the PUP [Pandemic Unemployment Payment] over Christmas and have no prospect of returning to work in the New Year.
The federation has said there is widespread belief among publicans that wet pubs may not reopen until a vaccine achieves herd immunity.
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Surely the heritage department should be obligated to look into this, whatever it turns out to be does it not warrant further investigation, any archeological find is part of our past and may give us a deeper insight into our history, I find it hard to comprehend how they can dismiss this!…
@Kate Flaherty: it’s an obvious leg pull.
@Kate Flaherty: If you put out enough bait , you’ll always catch one .
@Fiona deFreyne: most likely but they should go out and have a look. It’s only Meath, not the dark side of the moon.
@Kate Flaherty: exactly. Like wtf else have they got to be doing?? Not like there’s a new find every week
@Kate Flaherty: great, great, great, great, great, great, great, great, great grandfather, is that you?
@Ken Hayden: The experienced archealogist says ‘he has never seen anything like it’ – so it must be from an alien source or perhaps political.
It might even be an ancient grave then so.
@Fiona deFreyne: Are you sure…..
@Stephen Brady: Its only Meath…..Loughcrew, Newgrange, Trim Castle, Boyne Battle site, seige of Drogheda are all fake then..??
@Chris Kirk: exactly what I was thinking, that part of the country is steeped in history but I think Stephen was trying to point out it’s only County Meath they have to travel to not the other side of the world!..,
@Kate Flaherty: It’s clearly an angel. I mean, who’s ever heard of a neanderthal?
@Grotmaster: Stone the crows, I wondered where that angel went…
Some sort of ancient jelly baby..
@Irish Patriot: I hope its not bound to some ancient jelly curse.
@Stefan Epure: Don’t get all wobbly on me now.
@Irish Patriot: i doubt it, the head is not bitten off
Inspired by the Angel of Springfield.
And at risk of being labelled a big drysh*te, digging massive big holes in close proximity to archaeological sites is really not good.
There must be easier ways of getting likes and attention.
@Neil Jackman:
publicity stunt id imagine
@Neil Jackman: remember the angel in the Simpsons??
@Ian Parker: you’re comnent is spot ob.
@David Dickson: your
Building a stop on a fairy trail and all the workers were wearing trainers no work clothes and only one spade with no handle between them. Thick or what!
a stone death mask of Gonzo
@Itsme: Need a stone death mask of someone – why not Zoidberg!
@Itsme: looks more like a bishop.
@Diogenes: Or Gonzo!
@Dae Monicus: Oophs it’s been done sorry itsme.
@Dae Monicus: Why no Zoidberg!
I’m outraged. Someone from sinn fein should be arrested and held responsible for this.
@itzme: it might be one of the many bodies they’ve disappeared over the years. Somebody ask Gerry does he recognise it.
@Sensword Byhax: didn’t know sinn fein disappeared any one, would you care to share your information. ?
@itzme: Well ppl IN SF did, with a probability so close to one as makes no odds. Of course, they were also in other things as well. Every time I see one or two of them especially glad-handling as politicians always think of that story about James Joyce, who was at a Harvard symposium when an American student raced up to him going ”OH MY GAWD JAMES JOYCE!!!! LEMME SHAKE THE HAND THAT WROTE ULYSSES!!” To which Joyce replied ”Well, if you must, but remember it’s done a lot of other things too….”
@Sensword Byhax: would you use the same probability when betting on a horse with your own money?
@itzme: if I was a betting man it’d be money in the bank. Sadly I dropped a fiver on Greasepaint at Aintree in 1983 and the hoor’s still runnin most likely. Cured me of that in an instant. Being from Cavan.
@itzme: SF/IRA. Most people are smart enough to know they are two branches of the same organisation. You’re not that smart, apparently.
If its in the Meath Chronicle it must be serious.
fake
Laughing. Good try and it’s not even 1st April yet.
I heard today from a source in Meath that it was legitimate. A similar, but much smaller find was made at the Hill of Ward in Meath a few years ago and there was the same response from the dept of Heritage, they denied the find. I was told the reason why, but Id be afraid to post it here.. I think it had to do with funding, and whether it was to be made available. etc.
@Morgan Ferriter Art: why in the christ would you be afraid????
@Morgan Ferriter Art: Its an ancient Egyptian statue of there god thoth by the looks of its beaked head.
@Morgan Ferriter Art: Don’t get me started please…..archalogists often forget that people sometimes put things in the ground to bury them, not to dig them up again and what often turns out to be heritage is no more than somebody’s buried rubbish.
@Morgan Ferriter Art: As the person overseeing the excavation at the Hill of Ward I can assure you that no similar find was made. What was found was the skeleton of an infant in a formal burial from c. 400 AD. The National Monuments Service were informed (as were the coroner and gardai as is the law) and did come to visit the site.
This could be a case for Scully and Mulder!
@Brendan Rogers: inspired to dig out my old “catatonia” cd now!
@Ken Mitchell: Ah CDs, those were the days
Obviously one of the Beaker people.
Child of the face on Mars.
Typical Ireland…no investigation…nothing like this has ever been found before. Superstitions at play here… its situated in the middle of a fairy ring.
It could be a statue that was in the process of being carved and was rejected for some reason.
@Cathal Mac Einri:
Because its nose was too big?
@Walt Jabsco:
Or wasn’t big enough?
@Cathal Mac Einri: Too big for the milk float
The return of the Dummy.
no mention of the gold that i found , phew , thought i was busted there for a second
Ok.. I could be wrong, and this could be a dummy.. good acting by the 3 lads if this is the case.! Rip big-nose. :-)
and not a word about the gold
Monuments don’t check anything out unless it’s far enough away for overnight expenses. This could a boost for our tourism, possibilities are endless as most people will believe anything connected with new or even old fairies. Fairies and leprechauns should be grant aided to help them proliferate and boost our tourism. This specimen from our past looks like an ancient traffic bollard.
have your say