The destruction of that beautiful water feature for a start.

FIGHT!

Jape – Instrumental For The Lonely

Magic and loss.

Jape aka Richie Egan unfurls the latest chapter in his Sentinel video project.

Ais Brady directs this absorbing film in gorgeous monochrome.

Richie says:

“Ais  and the crew made something so beautiful and intimate – a meditation on the privacy of loss and how love can transcend physical presence.

“The idea really made sense when she described it to me and the wonderful video stayed with me long after watching.”

Nick says: Ah, look at all the lonely people.

Jape

This morning.

Balfe Street, Dublin 2

An Tánaiste and Minister for Trade, Enterprise and Employment, Leo Varadkar, and actor and author Amy Huberman (wearing a design by Helen Cody) launching #MADELOCAL.

The campaign, developed by The Design & Crafts Council Ireland (DCCI), is a nationwide initiative to boost sales and drive revenue for both makers and retailers.

DCCI’s ambition is that the Made Local campaign will ‘remind consumers taking staycations this year of the high-quality, unique products available from Irish makers and designers across the country’.

The Design Council of Ireland

Hey, I know.

Let’s lose the maskage.

After all, you guys could be anyone.

From left: Design & Crafts Council Ireland (DCCI) Chair Breege O’Donoghue, Amy Huberman , An Tánaiste and Minister for Trade, Enterprise and Employment, Leo Varadkar and Rosemary Steen, CEO, DCCI,

Nice one.

But is that really Breege?

Leon Farrell/PhotocallIreland

Irish-made stuff to broadsheet@broadsheet.ie marked ‘Irish-Made Stuff’. No fee.

This afternoon.

The Convention Centre, Dublin.

Disabled service users and their families  say ‘Enough is Enough’ outside a sitting of the Dáil.

The ‘Enough Is Enough – Every Voice Counts’ group is protesting the removal of day services for people with disabilities, and are calling for ‘equal treatment as the rest of the society reopens’.

Enough Is Enough (Facebook)

Meanwhile…

This afternoon

Róisín Shortall TD, co-leader of the Social Democrats, has welcomed a ‘commitment’ from the Taoiseach that the disability cuts of €20m will no longer go ahead.

Deputy Shortall said:

“These cuts, billed as ‘efficiency cuts’, were announced back in January before the Covid-19 crisis. And while there were vague suggestions from the former Minister for Health that they would not go ahead during the pandemic, this is not what service providers in the disability sector were hearing on the ground from the HSE.

“Last week, the new Minister for Health said he did not know if the cuts would still go ahead so I welcome today’s confirmation from the Taoiseach that they will not proceed. In the Dáil today, I pressed him to put this in writing to the HSE and disability organisations immediately.”

Sasko Lazarov/RollingNews

This afternoon.

The Convention Centre, Dublin.

Sinn Féin President Mary Lou McDonald arrives for a Dáil session sporting a perspex balaclava face shield….

Meanwhile….

This afternoon.

Convention Centre, Dublin.

Taoiseach Micheál Martin arriving for a sitting of the Dail wearing a bespoke face mask featuring his name alongside a tiny defiant tricolour for added protection.

Sasko Lazarov/RollingNews

This afternoon.

In the Dáil, during Leader’s Questions.

Independent TD Paul Murphy asked Taoiseach Micheál Martin about the Minister for Employment and Social Protection Heather Humphreys’ announcement (see below) ten minutes before Leaders’ Questions that Covid-19 Pandemic Unemployment Payment recipients will not have their pay cut if they travel to green-listed countries.

During her announcement she also said that she has ordered that all cases where PUPs were cut will be reviewed.

However, she said for people who travel to countries not on the green list, “persons can travel for essential reasons only, for example, if you’re going to a non-green list country, it must be for essential reasons such as a bereavement or for health reasons. If you inform your Intreo office in advance, your payment will not be impacted.”

Mr Murphy said the announcement had left penalised PUP recipients wondering if their docked pay will be reinstated and asked for clarity.

He also said that he believes the announcement is on foot of the Free Legal Advice Centre claiming the cuts were illegal – as there has been no legal basis for the cuts.

Mr Murphy also asked the Taoiseach to explain the legal basis that gardai had when they approached a man [Ciaran Cooney] in Dublin Airport on May 7th, told him they were carrying out an ‘immigration check’, only for the man to later learn his PUP was stopped.

The TD asked what legal basis the gardai had to ask for his passport but also what legal basis did they have to transfer data about the man to the Department of Employment and Social Protection – as believed by Mr Cooney.

Mr Cooney’s payment was reinstated after his local TDs Brian Stanley, of Sinn Fein, and Carol Nolan, an Independent, made representations for him.

Mr Murphy said:

“But if there was no legal basis then, there’s still no legal basis now for this discrimination now because the statutory instrument of the 10th of July, explicitly only relates to jobseekers, it does not reference the PUP.”

During his response, Mr Martin didn’t give clarity but repeated that people whose pay was cut can seek a review. He said:

“I’m not responsible for decisions by people on the ground in respect of compliance with social protection. But what I did say yesterday, what I did say yesterday is that I would want anyone who was legitimately, or anyone who lost their PUP, that those cases would be reviewed.”

He also added that the checks will continue and said he had already outlined the department’s legal basis [however neither Mr Martin nor any other politician has clarified the ‘reasonable grounds’ upon which a garda can approach a person at an airport or port irrespective of the Coivd PUP/social welfare payment].

Mr Murphy, frustrated at the lack of clarity, then asked the Taoiseach again to clarify:

“Are PUP recipients who go on holidays 1) to a green-list country 2) to a non-green list country…will they be penalised?”

He also asked that will people who were wrongly penalised have the money reimbursed.

Mr Martin spoke for the next minute and 20 seconds but didn’t answer either question. Leaders’ Questions then came to a close.

Earlier…

This morning/afternoon.

Dail Eireann at the Convention Centre, Dublin.

Minister for Social Protection Heather Humphreys (above) said she will sign a regulation that will allow people receiving Pandemic Unemployment Payment and Jobseekers’ Allowance to travel to green list countries without having their payments halted.

Via RTÉ:

The minister also said she has directed her department to review all cases to date where people who went on holiday had their payment stopped.

Under legislation passed in the Dáil last night, anyone in receipt of the Pandemic Unemployment Payment must be “genuinely seeking” employment.

Breaking Dáil told PUP recipients won’t have payment cut over travel to green list countries (RTÉ)

Earlier: Reasonable Question

The great old days.

Name those casually slung jam jars, anyone?

Jill Uris?

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