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DONEGAL, CAVAN AND Monaghan will be put under Level 4 Covid-19 restrictions, Taoiseach Micheál Martin has announced.
The measures for the three border counties will come into effect from midnight tomorrow and remain in place until 10 November.
The decision comes after restrictions to curb the spread of Covid-19 were announced for the North.
Speaking about the restrictions imposed by the Northern Executive during a speech announcing the measures tonight, the Taoiseach said “the virus pays no heed to borders”.
“The picture emerging in the three border counties is also very worrying,” he added.
“This [news] will be difficult news for many people and many businesses.”
The three counties have the highest 14-day incidence rates per 100,000 in the country, with Cavan’s rate at 571, Monaghan’s at 360, and Donegal’s at 353. The national 14-day incidence is 190.
“The implications for local hospitals and public health in these areas is obvious and very serious, so too is the need for immediate escalation in restrictions in those three counties,” Martin said.
Under Level 4, people are advised not to leave their county except for work, education and other essential purposes.
The Government also advises people not to have visitors to their home or garden, and that social or family gatherings should not take place in other settings.
No indoor gatherings should take place and only outdoor gatherings of up to 15 people are allowed.
Museums, galleries and other cultural attractions all remain closed under Level 4, although schools are permitted to stay open.
Under the new restrictions in the North, pubs and restaurants will close for four weeks, with the exception of takeaways, from Friday.
From Monday schools will close for two weeks until 2 November, with one of these weeks covering the half-term Halloween break.
While the three border counties are placed in Level 4, the rest of the country remains in Level 3.
With reporting by Gráinne Ní Aodha.
I think the judge said it all yesterday when he had 150 people before him in court for non paying licence fee. He really stuck it to RTE. still at the same time he had to do his job. Point he made was people have their backs to the wall, struggling with cost of living, and the Elite in RTE giving two fingers to them. I personally think this new DG will get a bigger rug and try to brush this mess under it. By the way, who actually hired this guy. Where was the job advertised.
@Dave Barrett: The Judge basically gave them all the absolute minumum fines and no convictions if in attendence. He is on a work to rule atm in regards to licence fee avoidance.
Fair play to him.
I’m not entirely convinced that Marty was the person who had the car for 5 years that the board was speaking about. The impression I got was that a staff member had the use of a pool car for 5 years without anyone questioning it. There’s no question that what Marty did was wrong but I won’t be at all surprised if others are uncovered.
@karen delaney: why was Marty wrong again?
@Gary Sheahan: That’s what I’m trying to figure out all week. He was given a loan of a car. Not a company ambassador, no promoting the car, just a loan. If a friend had given him a loan of a car, would that be any different?
He was driving around in a Renault car was that not promoting the brand
@Margaret Deacon: so what?
@Margaret Deacon: If you wanted somebody to be driving/ promoting your car would Marty Morrissey be the first one you’d think of?
How many cars do you think they sold on the basis of this?
@Gary Sheahan: it’s not the crime of the century what Marty did, but he took a car in lieu of cash payment. There are tax implications for him, but it’s not the big story here. Anyway, the man himself apologised, so he thought he had done wrong.
@karen delaney: That’s what the article says.
@Gary Sheahan: Benefit in kind – undeclared which means fraud.
He should be fined AND pay all bik taxes to cover the YEARS he had a “loan” of a car he was not paying for. That’s the rule that applies to the rest of us – why should he have special privileges?
@: if your ‘friend’ is your employer and they give you something of value, you legally must pay tax on it. I know he’s your precious GAA lad but c’mon. Tax fraud isn’t something you should justify because a criminal is popular.
Why are the Irish so amoral?
Fully support the principle of public service broadcasting. In some ways, it’s probably more important than its ever been.
But RTE ? I despise it and always have. The last couple of weeks have only confirmed that the Donnybrook Dinosaur is no longer fit for purpose ( not that it ever was )
A corrupt organisation that needs dismantling
RTE have no shame,
What a brilliant article. So nicely put.
@Louise Langton: I don’t agree that it’s a brilliant article. It’s equating what Marty Morrissey did by accepting a car from Renault with the rotten deal RTE did with Ryan Tubridy. Marty’s arrangement had nothing to do with RTE but RTE management threw it into the pot as a total distraction from their incompetence and underhanded cheating towards their general staff
@Winklepicker: it’s actually not equating the two, it clearly says the opposite in the article
@Winklepicker: If you read the article I thing you’ll find the author goes to great lengths to exonerate Marty Morrisey in this whole debacle.
@Winklepicker: you’re defending fraud. Morrissey was given thousands of tax dollars, paid no BIK and only returned it when he realised he was about to be publicly outted.
If he was jobless you’d probably support locking him up.. But he does the GAA so who cares?
It’s no wonder nothing works in this country.
@Winklepicker: Tubridy ripped off taxpayers using his bulldog agent.
Marty ripped off taxpayers by not paying his benefit in kind while enjoying a free car for YEARS…. Liking someone is not a reason to ignore the law.
I can’t stand the sight of him personally – he hurts my eyes and my ears every time I see him on TV.
Dreadful listening to RTE. They take a theme in the morning and drag it through each programme during the day. Each one of Kelly’s charges, carefully promoting the other.
It is called sensationalism. The shoe ( or flip, flop) is on the other foot now.
Joe Duffy ( a Kelly protogee) as the arch sensationalist, should have recused himself, as a professional from any comment on the affair.
@Appaddy: Duffy’s big idea, when a listener phone in and suggested that Tubridy return the money to the RTE coffers, was to suggest the money be donated to Charity. Good man Joe, spread our money around, theres more coming and if we don’t pay we’re criminals who get sent to jail. You couldn’t make it up.
It’s only taxpayers money – so nobody in authority cares.
Joe Duffy a talent haha imagine him being on radio in the South with his dublin accent no one listens to him rte is a dub station always has been
@john mac: I’m a Dub and I only on occasions such as these tune in with much glee when they fck up.
It’s a great wee country.
Marty. The Christmas Panto.
Oh Yes you did.
Oh No I didn’t.
#Look at them yo yo’s on RTE#
#Money for nothing and flip flops for free# (Apologies to Dire Straits).
Timmy ‘Columbo’ Dooley realised that he might have greatly upset the whole of County Clare by exposing their Idol as a mere trough slurper and he quickly tried to undo the damage to his future electoral chances. Marty meanwhile will deputise for Tubridy this week and carry on regardless leaving Timmy with a plan to Repair the Damage and Restore Trust.
How the fluck has rte got 1800 employees and all the show is cooking programs
@Pj Browne: Well they have to send somebody to Fallon and Byrne to buy the ingredients, another to wash up afterwards….
Marty’s mistake is serious.
But nowhere near Tubridy’s sly, sleeveen way of “not doing his bit”
Dooley has ‘ratted’ out his Clare countyman and is flat out practically begging Forgiveness.
His chance of being re-elected have now taken a complete nosedive.
Exposing Marty won’t be forgotten or forgiven by people of Clare.
Excellent blog by Patrick E Walsh on substack showing how millions of tax payer money was used to promote covid information on the radio.
Shut down the economy, starve media of vital advertising revenue.
Use tax payer money instead to save media industry, as long as they stick to the narrative.
Simple and effective. Safe and effective. We are paying to be brain washed. And we will be happy about it.
@p m: Yes. You will pay. You will be happy.
Morrissey needs to go.. him and others are well past their sell by date .the have creamed enough
I’m.shocked that people are so shocked.
Surely we all knew this was happening?
Just for any thicko who doesn’t understand ignorance of the law is no defence when dealing with revenue, tubridy and Morrissey need to understand this
Good job Carl! It’s great to make light of endemic corruption and fraud. Hahaha.
A servile media will ensure we have many more generations of highway robbery by our state broadcaster.
A wonderful piece on the nonsense of the last week, @TVsCarlKinsella!!
@Paul Furey, ah you’re back!!! Missed you and your conspiracy theory rants. No doubt you spent your ban time doing your own research aided by Andrew Tait, Jordan Peterson and Joe Rogan.
I look forward to your enlightening views on how we’re all being duped by MSM, Klaus Schwab and the WEF replacement plan.
@Schrodingers Immigrant: maybe you are the one being duped. You come across as arrogant sometimes, belittling ‘low IQ’ journal commentators, yet you don’t have a good grasp of the issues yourself….eg your understanding of inflation and economic theory is flawed in my view. But it’s ok to hold different views, debate is healthy, we all might learn something……that’s my philosophy, if my view can be shown to wrong, then I have will make progress by learning from others.
To understand why Ireland is the way it is, simply look at the response to this scandal.
Way too many people are happy to defend tax fraud – and make up silly nonsense as part of that effort.
Way to many other people think the solution to this is lying to the TV license people.
Why WOULDN’T politicians and celebrities endlessly rip the country off? Who’s judging them? Liars and people who justify criminality?
Reply to P.M. – I don’t think calling out grifters and shysters like Tate, Peterson and Rogan is ” arrogance ” on the part of Schrödinger’s Immigrant.
And Tate in particular is a grotesque and sinister individual, currently in custody charged with sex-trafficking, amongst other things.
If we look deeper into how the RTE spending and payments debacle it would lead us into the whole lack of respect and oversight on the spending of tax payers money by the civil and public service as a whole. The ludicrously high wages salaries paid to management of State bodies in comparison to the hard working staff, the HSE is an example.
The farcical situation of the NCH, how had this been allowed to happen?
We allowed it to happen. We voted in incompetents, and the real decision makers, the senior civil servants, the ones on massive salaries and pensions pull their strings are totally immune from any consequences.
@p m – You do a good enough job belittling your own IQ, you don’t need me for that.
Another lad who gets sucked into anything that suggests the entire global system is a big conspiracy to dupe the world and only the enlightened few with a YouTube channel know what’s really happening.
My favourite of your theories is the one where you say that things going up in price isn’t inflation.
Niiice.
@Schrodingers Immigrant: We support this message.
It’s not like he has little money to pay his way…..I suppose Marty Morrissey wants everything he can get for free…..a very human trait, he is greedy…….
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