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OPPOSITION PARTIES ARE asking the government for clarity on a broad change to the structure of the vaccine priority schedule that was announced this evening.
Under a new plan, priority for vaccinations will no longer be assigned based on a person’s occupation.
Instead, once vulnerable groups are inoculated, the schedule is to move immediately to a priority determined by age categories.
Taoiseach Micheál Martin said that the original programme for the rollout could have been delayed due to difficulties in identifying people employed in specific jobs.
Sinn Féin leader Mary Lou McDonald said she believes that the “change the government has made on this is one possibly of necessity because their system is so ineffective”.
Speaking on RTÉ’s Six One News, McDonald said: “I think the change by government is more an admission that their system is ineffective and it’s simply easier to categorise people by age.”
“I have very great sympathy with gardaí, teachers, SNAs, and family carers, who haven’t been given a look it at all yet on the order of priority, and I think it underscores that the government have a lot to do to get the systems, the oversight, the surveillance and the delivery of this vaccination programme right,” she said.
Under the preexisting schedule, teachers at primary and secondary level, alongside school staff, special needs assistants, childcare workers, maintenance workers and school bus drivers would have been vaccinated under cohort 11, which covered people essential to education and who face disease exposure.
Looking at gardaí, Sinn Féin spokesperson for justice Martin Kenny said that it should reinstate vaccinations for members of An Garda Síochána as a priority.
Kenny said that he was “horrified to hear that the government has thrown away the plans for the vaccine rollout, and removed any prioritisation for our gardaí”.
“It makes zero sense and beggars belief that someone without an underlying condition and able to work from home could get the vaccine in advance of Gardaí working on the frontline,” he said.
The government signed off on the overhaul alongside a plan for the restrictions that are to be in place over the coming months.
The 5km limit on travel is to lift from 12 April. Instead, people will be allowed to travel within their own county and up to 20km from their home, even if that involves crossing a county border.
Labour is still pushing for the appointment of a Minister for Vaccines to oversee the vaccine rollout.
Party leader Alan Kelly said that there are a “lot of frontline essential workers in education, childcare, policing and retail who will be concerned that they no longer have any priority under the vaccination programme”.
“The government is gambling on volume over efficiency when it comes to the vaccine roll out which is why they’ve decided to change strategy, Kelly said.
“This gamble better work out for them, otherwise workers in Covid facing roles will be left high and dry,” he said.
“The government also still need to provide answers on what happened at the Beacon. If we had a Vaccination Minister we might have some proper oversight and accountability. In the coming weeks people’s faith in our Covid response can be restored with a more competent rollout of the vaccine.”
In a statement, the Social Democrats said that the “changes proposed to the vaccine priority list require explanation in terms of how they will operate”.
“The government needs to spell out if this will entail a self-registration system,” the party’s co-leader Róisín Shorthall said.
“If so, is the IT system capable of this and how do they plan to approach hard-to-reach groups?”
As of Saturday, 802,502 doses of vaccines against Covid-19 have been administered in Ireland, including 577,641 first doses and 224,861 second doses.
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Most of Europe gives 70% of your last salary when you loose your job. My brother received over 3 grand a month when he lost his job. Gave him time and money to start working for himself.
Dau&Night, you are correct in what you are saying; however in most EU Countries the dole is stopped after a certain time. In Germany, you are getting 70% of your last salary for the first nine months. It goes down to a big fat zero after that. The country does not care what you eat or where you sleep. Merkel believes that 9 months is enough to relocate to other city or eu state if you cant get a job where you are.
It would never work here since circa 7% of the people consider the dole to be their career and people in general have unrealistic expectations when it comes to the labour markets
” circa 7% of the people consider the dole to be their career ” That why we managed to maintain an unemployment rate around 2% for extended periods during the boom then is it? But let’s not let facts get in the way of a good old fashioned doler bash.
A bit ironic when this kind of talk is coming from the same woman who gives thousands of free workers to unscrupulous employers.
What you guys failed to mention is that to receive that 70% (80% in sweden but there is a ceiling) you have to pay into a fund when employed. Plus it has to be paid into for more than 6 months. It has nothing to do with social welfare.
Also in Germany the payments may well be cut off after 9 months (a reduction to 55% is my understanding) but that doesn’t mean they have no other welfare benefits in place. Please get the facts together before posting.
So, PRSI isn’t paying into a fund?
Free workers? That’s a strange name for back to work schemes. Recently 2 friends on jobsbridge have secured full time positions. It’s easy really. Go to a company on jobsbridge, work hard and make yourself valuable and you will be hired. If you go and moan about it and consider it a waste of your time you will get sweet F A .
Too many wasters and moaners in this country who think welfare is a long term solution,
The minister for self protection and self promotion what does she know about hardship she is delusional ,only interested in power and supporting her fianna gael masters.
theres a big difference between 4fm a specialist employer using jobsbridge and the likes of tesco using it to prop up failing stores as cheap labour.
We actually never went below 4%, which is considered “zero” unemployment as you have to account for part time workers, workers changing jobs, losing jobs and so on.
Silent Majority, so called Full Employment assumes 4% unemployment rate (ppl who can’t/won’t work). Throughout the boom time 7-8% of ppl relied on the welfare to some extend (either full time or part time). I ain’t trying to be smart but I have 1:1 Masters in Economics and the sad reality is that two adults with two children are few quid better off on the dole than working for the minimum wage (case study by UCD)
Niall, I know the German system inside out as I lived there for 24 years :). It goes down to zero and also if you refuse to relocate twice, you get cut off immediately. If you live in Berlin and get your dole there, you may be asked to relocate to Hamburg as the job in your field of speciality may be there. If you refuse twice, that is it. I could not believe that in Ireland one can be on Jobseekers Allowance for 10-15 years. I am not saying the system here is bad. All I am saying is that it does not really stimulate people to be looking for jobs day & night
I completely agree Kevin but that’s up to individuals to not allow themselves to be exploited and not blame the scheme as a whole.
Wake up, ‘most of Europe’ is in deep s*** with sluggish economies strangled by taxation and government debt. Even todays ‘poster boy’ Germany got ahead by suppressing wages for two decades after reunification. Raise the minimum wage (no other way to call this ‘Living Wage’ and more people will lose jobs. Its the economy 101 – raise wages above the productivity level and you create unemployment. The EU average is 10%. This posturing by Joan is only designed to stop the bleeding of Labour but the writing is on the wall. Labour pls check the PDs and the Greens to see what your future is. And rightly so.
You’re right Niall, “free workers” is a strange name for back to work schemes like Jobsbridge. It’s just good old fashioned slave labour.
The only difference between modern day slavery and the slavery endured by millions of people historically is that in today’s form of slavery your employer doesn’t provide food, shelter and medical care; and the slaves are provided by governments instead of slave traders.
Many employees pay no PRSI. Anyone earning under €352 per job does not pay, employers pay for each employee as we’ll as themselves but if the business goes bust employees are entitled to social welfare if they have worked 39 weeks two years prior to the date of closure where the employer is entitled to nothing…….
Dom, the primary cause of unemployment is the structure of free market capitalism. The goal of private enterprise is to employ as few people as possible and pay them as little as possible. Unemployment and poverty is inevitable in this system unless the state or the unions intervene.
Different thing Tony. And completely abused by the government. What benefits do you really get from the taxes you pay? Work 40 years, lose your job and get exactly the same weekly amount as someone who never worked a day in their lives! Why they’re even called benefits is beyond me. Entitlements more like.
I stand coreccted!
Well said Niall .. non contrib payments need to be cut big time.
And USC
Well Coddler, you are right. The state can ensure full employment, it can get every unemployed a toothbrush and send them to clean the streets. However, creating productive employment is a different story. It requires capital formation and private entrepreneurs. And of course businesses pay for stuff as little as possible. I am sure you behave in the same fashion. Or do you pay more for the same thing if you can pay less? What you write is uninformed and hypocritical rubbish.
And what about those “interns” who are working for the government?
The government gets these workers for “free” and then sacks them after their nine month internship because there’s a current moratorium on hiring workers.
Quite, Rodrigo!
You been one of them Boylan !!!
well aint it a pity then, what i’ve always known, that Merkel and the other EU states governments don’t take back the ones still here out of work after even 2 years! but no, grass is greener here isn’t it. Let’s all go to Ireland. They have the cheek then to question our SW bill? sure we’re paying it to half of europe, with huge benefits for children not living here along with it. It will end soon, it can’t be sustained, let alone the provision of jobs for half of europe.
that system is not just in Germany, like i’ve said before SW systems all vary from state to state yet we’re still been told by brussels we have to keep paying benefits for kids not living here, it’s the EU??!!! ha what a joke. we’re been taken for a ride. There a polish fella next door to us, hasn’t worked in 4 years since he got here, drunk every night. he ain’t going home while the going is good here. We have our own to deal with, but now we have more. They should be cut off and sent packing back to their EU state that seems doesnt want them either cos they’re SW system is different. a big joke.
*their
@Niall Boylan4fm, would you ever stick a cork in it and FO! You looking for a text poll, to bring in money and something to moan about on your show!
Lukacz, in Germany you pay an extraordinary amount in from your wage to get the 9 month UB. After this you get Hartz4 which is 385€ for the month plus rent plus health insurance plus plus plus to a maximum of 900€ for a single person. I hardly have to tell you that this level is brutally low and that there are soup kitchens everywhere. But it is certainly not true that you get nothing
@ Lukasz , not sure where you’re getting your stats from but the unemployment rate during Celtic Tiger years (2002 – 2007) was in around 4.5% (well below the EU average). The long-term unemployment rate was less than 2% during the same time (http://www.cso.ie/en/media/csoie/releasespublications/documents/otherreleases/2011/measuringirelandsprogress2011.pdf pg 36/37)
These figures include the people on the Live Register full-time and part-time like you mention.
Any chance that could happen here would love to get relocated to lanzarotie as I’m a unemployed male stripper / bar man ?
When I see you I’ll buy you a pint
It’s slave labour for those that want it to be.
Start by slashing your own wages . Only in politics can you lie,deny and cry poor us. Stop taking from my wages and stop taxing my home water air
You could cut each and every Politician’s wage to zero and it wouldn’t make a blind bit of difference. The country is borrowing money every day of the week to keep the lights on. It’s only a matter of time before we’ll need a write down on the money we’re borrowing also.
Reality hurts.
Reality hurts when it is organised in the manner it is at present. Other realities wouldn’t hurt.
But sure where’s the harm in a daft generalisation. Just fire it into the pile with the 7 per cent see social welfare as a career, USSR had full employment, Joan Burton is a saviour of unemployed and low paid worker and sundry other Saturday Afternoon nonsense
Sovereign countries do not need to borrow money to keep the lights on. They can in effect create as much money as they need to cover any budget deficit. Ireland is being subjected to an artificial shortage of money in order to coerce us into the austerity program which drives down the wages, working conditions and living standards of ordinary people. Austerity is working perfectly in this regard. Meanwhile the banks which caused this economic crisis have received over a trillion euros from the ECB at extremely low interest rates over the past couple of years.The ECB created this money by pressing keys on a computer in Frankfurt. Austerity is for the little people.
A claim that state can create money is correct. But money is worthless unless backed up by production. This is what guys like you fail to understand: money is not capital.
It is utter ignorance to suggest that in 2013 a western state can print as much money as it wants.
Those who live of state support should, at least, appreciate that their fellow citizens are paying for them.
Coddler, exactly how old are you? Do you think it’s Monopoly money or something? A state cannot simply print money to solve problems.
Coddler does not live in the real world. He only thinks about now, not 3 years time…spend spend spend, sure we’ll print some more money if we run out then we’ll spend spend spend again… This guy is a joke when it comes to thinking of viable alternatives…a spoofer of the highest order…
never surprises me ould Richard doesn’t like the increase of wage, his buddies in business ya know. sure he has to keep the master plan on the road. get rid of him and Shatter. agenda men
Coddler, governments cannot simply print money. If they did you would get to see what happens to the normal working person once giant inflation starts to kick in.
Quick and easy fixes rarely turn out that way. They just sound good on paper.
It’s not necessarily wages and incomes that are the problem, it is the costs that must be covered from that income, and government policy plays no small role in this. Rent allowance is the main culprit is maintaining artificially high rents, and indirectly, over priced property. The recipients of rent allowance are not really those who are renting as they just pass the money along to landlords, effectively making it a welfare for the wealthy scheme. If people can’t cover mortgages on their investment properties in a free market, then they should surrender these properties – there is nothing efficient about government paying off investment mortgages.
Protecting the lowest paid workers is essential. Zero hour contracts, the exploitation of domestic workers and au pairs, the overuse of internships. These matters need to be addressed without delay. Phasing in a living wage is a great idea, but address the exploitation first.
if they’ve got legal rights to work ‘au pair’ they should not be exploited but if they’re not legal then… they’re already exploiting us.
Hey, a “living wage” is one thing but “disposable income” is what is non existant in most working homes at the minute thanks to crippling bank pressure, various taxes and fees.
And people taking large mortgages, credit cards, over spending in the boom….
If you throw money at people, give it out like confetti and not behave responsibly as a Bank. Then those debts, should be written off and Banks pay for their greed and folly!
Ah Stephan come on. So if a bank gives you a giant loan or credit card and you take it and then struggle to pay it back it’s all the banks fault?? Surely the customer has some responsibility for taking it and then spending it irresponsibly?
What exactly is a living wage Joan? Is it €238 a week, like what the thousands on the job bridge scheme have to get buy on.
They should be dam glad to get it. Imagine getting all that cash, valuable experience, skills development and the possibility if you work hard enough. We really need to adjust the ego of the new welfare class and definitely of the career welfare class. It really does amaze me how they have nothing yet have such self worth
“adjust the ego of the new welfare class”
WHAT!
I think it’s self explanatory
Are we going to tweak ALL of them?
always *wrong, your lack of empathy for your fellow citizen is disgusting.
I’m happy to pay my taxes in support of a welfare state and help those who need a hand.
Yes @always, it is self explanatory. It explains what a condescending pr*ck you are.
How gradual would that phasing in be Joan ? Starting in Labour’s next term of office . Yea right.
What she really means is that people need a minimum wage to pay propetty tax, water charges, usc, and other levies coming down the line. Give with one hand and take away with the other.
Joan, you and your party are finished. Give it up, will you?
Never had a real job our Joan. Lecturer then politican. Really knows all about the business world. 20+ years a politician so how can she believe she has her finger on the pulse? Pointless posturing
What a neck this woman has only last month in the budget her department cut the dole off the under 25′s so that they could no longer live in this country is she going to do a uturn and reinstate their dole i think not so her comment is pathetic to say the least, so what doe’s she regard as a living wage?, once again a politician opening their mouth with nothing but waffle coming out.
She could start by not giving my tax to bankers or SW spongers
Are you declaring income and paying tax on your gig money, Chris? I’m sure you’re totally honest about it and aren’t dodging. Get off your high horse. With you on the bankers though.
With all the civil servants that do be on here I’m sure someone checks stuff like that!
Shove your tax up you’re you know what.
Nose . Attic . Chimney. flag pole ?
Agree or disagree with her, she seems to be the senior figure in the party fighting for those who voted Labor. She should be leader.
So she says a few things that could be perceived to be positive and you think she should be the leader ??? Have you learned nothing from the last election.Joan knows she will be Labour’s next leader,because the rest will not stand for reelection.Listen to the rubbish FF are speaking about reform and their mistakes,that will soon be Joan Burton’s and “New Labour’s” mantra!!!
You also seem to forget that as a Labour minister,Joan has backed and supported all the pre-election lies this far.She is no better than Gilmore,just good at knowing when to keep her head down.
Richard doesn’t agree with her, so it either means she’s spinning it for votes or she really means it but… Richard you see. a party divided. Richard wants to create a new China, he’s going about the right way but won’t get to finish the work i’m afraid, another mess the next party will have to clean up. Poor Richard, his agenda will fail and all his buddies will finally have to move their business to China, no more cheap labour, either here now or to be imported in the very near future. This is not China Richard. We have a thing here called the cost of living, the cost of it, and all the other crap Phil and Rabbite come up with to squeeze more out.
Anyone notice that little extra €1 added on to the property tax? for anyone who paid €124 half of it this year, its now hmm strangely gone up to €125. one little euro multiply by 1 million. handy little earner. Crooks, every single one of them, worse than the mafia. get rid of them all.
Leader of what Jay? Sure isn’t Labour almost gone. They will at the GE anyway.
Living wage we will have half of your weekly salary for a start
Joan, We Salute You. Any chance of bringing back the Xmas bonus.
No.
We won’t rest until those prix in gubernment gives back de duble payment!!!
Oh yes,that would be an Orgasmic Experience for some shitizens,brig back Joan will ya.
and get rid of what was meant to be the ‘temporary’ universal service charge. seriously who thinks up of these names? they make it sound like the whole world is paying the same charge so we must too.
@always right or wrong get back in your box not everyone in social welfare wants to be in the queue, so get your facts right I know for a face that scam bridge does not work for everyone as someone close to me did 2 and were run around like skivvies and not paid, and this person really wants to work, tarring everyone with your little brush and big ego
I don’t know whether to laugh or cry, reading this article. Aspects of it appear to indicate that ms Burton is at least dimly aware of basic socialist principles and of the major myths and fundamental injustices involved in the capitalist free for all. How then do we explain her current stance and that of her party?
Definitely not, we need to reduce the minimum wage immediately or better still scrap it. Those on welfare should be forced onto local job bridge schemes, anyone refuses or questions anything then simply stop all welfare payments for life. People have to realize their place in life
Please tell me that is a joke?!
Always right, tell us honestly about your place in life and what you contribute to society.
Always right – your an absolute plank
Beansy, don’t insult planks, please! :)
Never liked that word forced !
Burton and her evil labor dogs should f off
It amazes me the amount of people who make these comments are hiding under a different name. If you had any guts you would use your own name
The more she says the less she appears to be rooted in reality.
They want to bully and insult other posters, when they dis-agree with you and have no good come back argument!
When will the fiddling with the economy and the increase of state intervention an redistribution end? When the West goes completely bust like the Soviet Union did?
The West is already completely bust and it was because of the lack of state intervention in the capital system. I like your child like view of the world.
So the government borrowing excess and the massive interventions of central banks designed to keep this borrowing at low rates is due to ‘lack of govenment intervention’??? And then I have a childish view?? Seems like your IQ is somewhere around room temperature, buddy.
Look at what Switzerland are doing
You men like having between 12 to 25% tax depending on the canton?
Mean not men…..
Minimum wage for all , regardless of circumstances.
The USSR had full employment, we should follow that model and guarantee our future and that of our children and children’s children and then we will be so happy.
So did post WW2 Britain when they started the NHS and rebuilt their country at a startlingly fast pace. It was the goal of the FDR governments of the 30′s too. The Soviet Union actually had the huge problems with unemployment that collectivisation brings but you don’t care about that, you just want to troll.
Is it trolling when reading virtual papers and looking for good debates ?
Don’t say I’m trolling now I’m just asking a question is all ;)
I don’t think “Ahhhhh sur they’re all communiists” is a good debate. But there’s no accounting for taste I guess.
Burton, it doesn’t matter whether you do good or not now as your department has already brought a lot of hardships on people. Those people have decided to kick you out at the GE. Make sure you go with honesty and leave your pension behind.
Is this woman some kind of socialist? This was bound to happen when we stopped doing as the church told us.
I think we should start a witch hunt for them scu m on the social welfare burn them all on a stake! who’s with me ? anybody ? No ?
Sarcasm doesn’t translate in print at all !
Compare what she said to Ian Duncan Smith her ideologue British equivalent. Then read the comments to see some purposely cynical Paddies who are lining up to cut off their noses to spite Labour. If you compare Joan Burton to the dialogue about welfare in other EU nations the woman is a revolutionary of common sense. Not everything a Labour minister says is automatically bad ya know and the idea what a minister in modern Europe will still defend the welfare state and tackle the “trickle down” myth is pretty impressive. She is the only one who acts like a Labour minister should by proposing moderate centre-left gradual Socialist reform and is pretty much the only politician that I put any trust in. Red thumb me all you want but this is a good thing because it sets the welfare argument in it’s proper context, not howling about “spoongers” and “leaches” but in the context of what is best for society as a whole.
The same Minister who introduced JobBridge? And who recently cut social welfare for under 25s?
The very same. And I like Jonbridge, seeing as I’m on it and all. As for the Welfare cuts, I don’t have to automatically support every decision the woman makes I think they’re wrong and short sighted but I’ve actually taken the time to think about why they did it. She was ordered to reduce the welfare bill, meaning there were going to be cuts anyway, and, wrongly, targeted the young as they have paid less taxes over the years. It’s as plain as paper that that was the reasoning behind it. I don’t agree with welfare cuts at all, we should really increase our payments to boost aggregate demand and massage the multiplier effect but cuts had to be made. But I’m not defending everything she’s done but at the same time I don’t believe that she’s all bad or all good. It’s sad that the level of political discourse in Ireland has basically been reduced to that kind of simplistic black vs white view of the world where “The same Minister who introduced JobBridge…” is suddenly incapable of saying or doing anything right.
Never said she was ”suddenly incapable of saying or doing anything right.” I’d just question the credibility of someone who recently ensured that from next January any new claimants of social welfare aged 18-24 will be paid a maximum weekly payment of €3.75 per hour for a 40 hour week. I think a living wage is a great idea but it’s hard to reconcile her rhetoric with her actions. It just comes across as a speech that would be given if Labour were in opposition, granted they’re the smaller party of a coalition government but think they’ve failed to make their mark on any significant Budget issues during the lifetime of this government.
That should be ny new claimants of social welfare aged 18-24 on JobBridge..
Let’s burn everyone on the
Is this like a guessing game? Oh goody!
“Let’s burn everyone on the”…. train! No….stage! No….ferrry!
Ah the aul writing when having a drinkeypoo doesn’t go hand in hand ! But your wrong ;) keep guessing ,
@beansY don’t insult a plank at least it’s got
Some use unlike me always right mrs Burton’s right hand man lol
what be your minimum living wage for tds and ministers
Fact not face
Can we have a vote on Niall Boylan to see how much of an Ahole he is ?
Meant mr always right cough cough
Another troll talking shite!!…
Wouldn’t it be great if Joan were in Government to make this happen.
have your say