Good news on the economy, good and bad news on Covid

This morning - as a Christmas treat - we will bring you the good news first, the less positive news afterwards and then a final festive sprinkling of more upbeat updates.

Harry McGee was busy last night hitting the phones to find out what happened at the Fianna Fáil parliamentary meeting. He found a surprisingly sanguine Taoiseach rallying the troops with a welcome missive from the economic frontlines.

Micheál Martin told his TDs and Senators that Ireland’s economic recovery from Covid has been quicker and more dramatic than that of any other EU member. He said the latest labour force survey showed Ireland had more people working now than before Covid-19 pandemic began in March 2020. Furthermore, he said, revenues to the State in 2021 were “exceptionally buoyant” and that VAT and income tax receipts were now at 2019 levels.

Cormac McQuinn similarly reported positive soundings from the Fine Gael meeting.

Miriam Lord: Taoiseach a strange hybrid of Tommy Cooper and Cork

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How a Covid cert revolt in Brussels reveals a dark trend in pandemic politics

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More than 1,600 queries on new travel restrictions in first week

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Sefcovic calls for ‘decisive push’ on talks with UK over Northern Ireland

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Businesses affected by the latest round of restrictions have been waiting impatiently for the Government to announce a new financial rescue package, however, and it looks like today will be the day for that.

Tánaiste Leo Varadkar told his party there would be a reformed Covid Response Support Scheme. A rejigged scheme could provide increased payments to affected sectors. Given the restrictions that came into effect on Tuesday, the expectation is any payments will be backdated until then. This will be one to keep an eye on today on irishtimes.com.

Read Harry and Cormac's piece on the Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael meetings here,

Our lead story from Pat Leahy and Simon Carswell is not quite as cheery (we did warn you).

Chief medical officer Dr Tony Holohan warned Government in a meeting yesterday about the threat from the new Omicron Covid variant, saying the incidence of Covid-19 remains very high and the trajectory of the new variant is uncertain.

Although Dr Holohan did not indicate Nphet would propose any further restrictions, the lead story says some sources say there is a possibility of extra restrictions next week, when public health officials will have further data on the new variant’s spread.

"There is a fear the situation in Britain could be mirrored here in coming weeks, a threat that could prompt restrictions on non-essential international travel over the Christmas period, according to people familiar with discussions on the issue." Read the full story here.

It’s not all bad news when it comes to Omicron, however.

Pfizer and BioNTech have said three doses of their vaccine appear to offer significant protection against the variant.

Top US infectious disease expert Dr Anthony Fauci also said preliminary evidence indicates the Omicron variant of the coronavirus likely has a higher degree of transmissibility but is less severe. It’s still early days, and there is much left to learn about the variant, with more updates expected in the coming days.

A shared island

One of Micheál Martin’s major projects as Taoiseach is the Shared Island initiative, and today he will provide an update on the next phase of his plans.

As Harry McGee reports, he will outline proposals for major green all-island projects including new cross-Border greenway routes and an all-island plan for hydrogen buses and lorries.

New funding for cross-Border initiatives totals €1 billion until 2030, in addition to the €3.5 billion committed to existing all-island projects. The new initiative would also see greenways running, for example, from Donegal to Derry, from Louth to Down, and from Monaghan and Cavan to Armagh and Tyrone. For those interested the announcement will be streamed at 2pm from Dublin Castle.

Best Reads

If you need a laugh today, this is just the ticket: Miriam Lord on the day that Micheál Martin compared Sinn Féin to the long dead British comedian Tommy Cooper.

Here's some welcome news for parents around the country - the days of schools closing in orange weather warnings could be coming to an end.

It could be you. Or could it? The Lotto jackpot has not been won since June 9th - an unprecedented rollover.

From rollovers to rollouts. Primary school children aged between five and 11 will be offered Covid-19 vaccines, with the rollout due to start in January.

Non-Irish EU citizens will need 'travel clearance' to cross the Border under a UK plan.

Playbook

Dáil

It will be a little less hectic in the Dáil today with the day set to run from 9am until a little after 7pm.

Minister for Agriculture Charlie McConalogue will take questions at 9am, and then Tánaiste Leo Varadkar will take questions an hour later.

Leaders’ Questions is up at noon before Questions on Promised Legislation. At 6pm there is a Private Members’ Bill on the regulation of tenderers. The Sinn Féin Bill would provide for greater regulation of publicly procured capital works.

The Dáil adjourns at 7.18pm.

The full agenda for the day can be found here.

Seanad

There are similar hours in the Seanad with proceedings set to run from 10.30am until 7pm.

Expect commencement matters at 10.30am and then the order of business.

At 1pm the Health and Criminal Justice (Covid 19) Bill is up. This allows for the extension of coronavirus restrictions until the end of March 2022. There is an option for a further three-month extension as part of this legislation.

Senators will then consider the Oireachtas Commission (Amendment) Bill 2021. This Bill effectively makes available the funding for the Oireachtas Commission over the coming three years. The Bill proposes to make some €462.5 million available to carry out its functions for the three-year period from January 1st, 2022, to December 31st, 2024.

The Seanad adjourns at 7pm.

Here is the full agenda.

Committees

At 9.30am, the Public Accounts Committee will hear from the Department of Social Protection in relation to controls over the Covid-19 pandemic unemployment payment. This will be in committee room three.

At 9.45am the Joint Committee on Disability Matters will discuss aligning disability services with the UNCRPD and will consider the future system and innovation of service provision. This will be in committee room four.

The Joint Committee on Public Petitions will meet in the same room at 1.30pm.

The Joint Committee on Agriculture will then discuss sea fisheries at 5.30pm.

Details of all the other committees and their work can be found here.