Public transport timetables will be scaled back to 80 per cent capacity in the coming days in order to comply with coronavirus social distancing requirements.
New timetables for Irish Rail will be in place from Monday, with scaled back Dublin Bus, Bus Éireann and Go Ahead schedules running from Wednesday.
Details of the new timetables are to be published later today.
The measures were announced at a briefing in Government Buildings by Elizabeth Canavan, assistant secretary general of the Department of Taoiseach on Friday.
While passenger numbers overall are down, some bus and rail services are still seeing “heavier loading” at certain times, which could potentially lead to problems maintaining social distancing, the senior civil servant said.
Drivers freed up under the scaled back timetables will allow for extra vehicles to be put on key routes during currently busy periods to address those concerns, she said.
Ten more patients with Covid-19 died in Ireland on Thursday – by far the highest daily death toll so far in the outbreak.
There was also a record daily number of new confirmed cases, at 255, according to the National Public Health Emergency Team. There have now been 1,819 cases of coronavirus in the Republic, and 19 deaths. Ms Canavan said, "people may be aware that The National Public Health Emergency Team is meeting this morning. If anything arises we will update later on today."
The Irish Prison Service is to stop all prisoner visits, with physical family visits to be replaced with “electronic visits” online, the senior official said. This was to stop large gatherings in prison visitor waiting rooms, she said.
Repatriation of citizens
Efforts continue to repatriate Irish citizens who are currently abroad seeking to return home during the global pandemic, she said.
“Currently we are trying to help over 2,000 citizens in 86 countries who are seeking assistance to return to Ireland,” she said.
Clearance had been given to the Department of Foreign Affairs for a repatriation flight from Peru back to Ireland, she said.
However, there was difficulties getting Irish citizens in the South American country to its capital in Lima to fly home.
“Internal travel is heavily restricted in Peru and many of our citizens are located hundreds of miles away from the international airport, we are working 24/7 to get the necessary transport and permissions to move them,” Ms Canavan said.
“Citizens who are not in Peru should not attempt to travel to Lima” in an effort to board the repatriation flight, she said, due to the “strict quarantine measures” in place in the country.
Businesses offer support
Ms Canavan said the Government had been contacted by a large number of businesses offerings services and support during the public health crisis.
“An online portal is being created to provide a place where we can keep track of these offers,” she said. The portal would be online later on Friday.
“We may not need everything that is being offered. However we want to have a process to acknowledge those offers and ensure we reach the right people across the system,” she said.
