Pringle Calls For Restored Government Supports As Donegal Moves To Level 4
- Updated: 15th October 2020
Pringle calls for restored Government supports as Donegal moves to Level 4
Independent TD for Donegal, Thomas Pringle, has urged the public to follow the advice of public health professionals to stop the spread of coronavirus, and said Government must restore supports for people and businesses that will be affected by the restrictions.
Deputy Pringle said: “The return to Level 4 will be disappointing and difficult for many people, but we must do our part to stop the spread of this virus. At the same time, the Government must take steps to support people through this tough period.
“When this crisis began, the Government knew the right thing to do. However, as the months have passed, we’ve seen a reduction in Pandemic Unemployment Payments and seen the rent freeze and evictions ban lapse.
“The crisis has not gone away. Those supports need to be reinstated. Businesses need help to ensure they will be able to reopen when we get through this,” he said.
Deputy Pringle also said regular lockdowns are not a long-term solution to the ongoing crisis, and repeated his call for Level 5 restrictions to be implemented for a period on an all-Ireland basis to prevent the constant upheaval.
“I think we should be going to Level 5 on an all-Ireland basis in order to short-circuit this constant need for lockdowns,” he said. “Something needs to be done, but ongoing, piecemeal lockdowns is not the solution. This approach is not fair on anyone.”
He said: “The people have always known the right thing to do – they’ve been ahead of the Government in a lot of ways, in terms responding to this crisis. But if we are truly all in this together, as the Government keeps telling us, Government must stand with the public and with our local businesses and support them through this.”
