Covid-19: ‘Off-the-charts’ lobbying from sectors as Government plots lockdown easing

Good morning.

There has rarely been a dull week in politics since Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil buried the hatchet this summer and joined forces with the Green Party.

This week will prove no different. The eyes of the country are on the Cabinet, which meets this morning to conduct its usual Tuesday business.

While another Government meeting is planned for later in the week, to specifically to approve plans for exiting Level 5 restrictions, Ministers are keen to get their initial demands in early today.

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As we report in our lead story, Ministers across all three parties are keen to see as expansive a reopening as possible, as soon as possible.

They will be pushing Taoiseach Micheál Martin, Tánaiste Leo Varadkar and Green Party leader Eamon Ryan to go as far as public health considerations will let them.

This pressure on the trio is scant compared to the intense lobbying under way by various sectors, all of whom are fighting to open their doors from next week.

That lobbying, one senior official said last night, is “off the charts”.

Many Ministers are pushing for the reopening of shops, gyms and churches, but others are focused on the hospitality sector and believe indoor dining should resume from next week onwards.

The Government has not yet made a final decision in relation to its reopening plans, but a staggered exit from Level 5 is still on the cards.

The most recent chatter was that December would be a month of Level 3 rules but “with modifications” that could change throughout.

Under this plan different sectors could reopen at different times and travel restrictions between counties may only be lifted towards the end of December.

One idea being given serious consideration is to allow hairdressers and gyms reopen next week along with religious services, while restaurants could open the following week or later.

The aim here is to keep the number of group gatherings to a minimum in the run-up to Christmas – particularly where alcohol is involved.

The three party leaders met last night. While they always keep shtum after their Monday night meetings, one source said the mood was positive and that the three agreed things are “going in the right direction”.

After all the lobbying, advice, opinions and media commentary, the Government will this week attempt to tell the country what December will look like.

There will be a Cabinet sub committee meeting , a meeting with Nphet and then another Cabinet gathering on Thursday or Friday.

It’s also another big week for Brexit – there is omnibus legislation being steered through the Dáil by the relevant Ministers – and the Taoiseach has indicated the outline of a deal could emerge by the end of the week.

Follow all the action at irishtimes.com.

Cabinet to discuss CervicalCheck tribunal

Apart from Brexit and Covid-19, the Government will have another important issue to discuss this morning.

Minister for Health Stephen Donnelly will likely be quizzed by his Cabinet colleagues on the collapse of talks between his department and the group representing women affected by the CervicalCheck tribunal.

The 221 Plus group has over the last number of weeks voiced concerns about different aspects of the planned tribunal. The two big problems were around women potentially being denied access because of the statute of limitations and around women not being able to return to the tribunal if their cancer recurs.

On the evening preceding the collapse of talks last week, Mr Donnelly wrote to the group saying he could not grant the wishes of the women citing clear and unambiguous advice from the attorney general.

The Taoiseach said over the weekend the Government would reflect on what happened. Many will be watching today to see what proposals, if any, Mr Donnelly tables in relation to the future of the tribunal.

Best Reads

A cracking story from my colleagues Jack Horgan-Jones and Simon Carswell who report how 150 barristers have been asked to repay grants totalling €750,000 approved and paid in error under a Government Covid-19 grant scheme.

Shops, gyms, the personal-care sector and the leisure sector will reopen across England next week under a new three-tier system of coronavirus restrictions, reports Denis Staunton.

President-elect Joe Biden is pushing ahead with preparations for his incoming presidency, writes Suzanne Lynch.

And on this topic, has Donald Trump finally conceded?

Playbook

First up is Leaders' Questions at 2pm, and Taoiseach's questions is just after 3pm followed by statements on Covid-19. The Fine Gael party in particular has been keen to hold a Dáil debate on exiting Level 5 lockdown so there's nearly two-and-a-half hours for TDs to get their spoke in. Here is the schedule.

There's a few big ticket items up in the Seanad today including the Finance Bill and statements on domestic, sexual and gender-based violence. The full plan for the day can be found here.

There are a lot of committee meetings today, but most them are in private session. Those that aren’t include the Joint Committee on Children, which will hear from Tusla on the recruitment of foster carer and social workers, and the Joint Committee on Agriculture, which will get an update from Minister Charlie McConalogue on the Virapro hand sanitisers.

Here's the full run-down.