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Restart Grant payments have been made to small businesses to help them with the costs associated with re-opening and re-employing workers following COVID-19 closures.  167 applications to a value of €548k have been approved to date. 

Further details on how to apply for the grant are available HERE

Press Statement – June 16^th 2020 Laois County Council on the winding up of operations by the Portlaoise Leisure Centre Company

Laois County Council notes with deep regret the decision of the Board of the Portlaoise Leisure Centre Company to put the company into liquidation.  The ongoing Covid 19 pandemic has had dire consequences for the sport, leisure and hospitality sectors in particular. In this regard the Portlaoise Leisure Centre has not been spared and it is doubly sad to witness the impact it has had on jobs and employment for those who had been working in the centre.

Portlaoise Leisure Centre CLG  has operated the Portlaoise Leisure Centre under licence from Laois County Council since 2012 and in that time it has made a huge contribution to the lives of many young people in the county. The Council wishes to acknowledge the sterling work the staff of the company and its members who over a long number of years and in a voluntary capacity have provided a top class service to the community.

Laois County Council is anxious that the public investment in the Leisure Centre will continue to be available for the benefit of the public at large and to this end the Council will make every effort to ensure the future viability of the leisure complex. In addition the Council will immediately arrange for refurbishment works to enhance the building and the site and to make sure it will be ready for use as soon as it is safe to do so and will also ensure the availability of pitches, the skate park and the  playground  in the short term. 

Circulars PL 02/2020 of 29 March 2020 and PL 03/2020 of 17 April notified planning authorities
of the making of Orders by the Government under section 251A(4) of the Planning and
Development Act 2000, as amended, to the effect that the period of 29 March 2020 to 9 May
2020, inclusive, could be dis-applied in the calculation of any appropriate period, specified
period or other timeline in the Act or other related planning legislation. The two Orders already
signed thereby had the effect of extending the duration of all relevant periods and timelines
specified in planning legislation by a period of 42 days/ 6 weeks.

Arising from the further Government decision to extend the Covid-19 related restrictive
measures until 18 May 2020, the Government has now made a further Order under section
251A(4) of the Planning Act extending the duration of all relevant periods and timelines specified
in planning legislation by an additional 14 days, up to and including 23 May 2020. The three
Orders thereby have the combined effect of extending the relevant planning periods and
timelines by an aggregate of 56 days/ 8 weeks. A copy of the Government Order will be available
on the Department’s website early next week.

An updated FAQ document for the information of planning staff on the impacts and implications
of the extended time periods on various aspects of the planning system further to the making
of the new Order has been uploaded on the Department’s website. Any queries in relation to
this Circular Letter can be emailed to planning@housing.gov.ie

On Friday 24^th April, Minister Zappone launched an initiative for children – 

Let’s Play Ireland  a gov.ie resource to support children and young people’s play during this time.

Let’s Play Ireland is an online portal on Gov.ie, providing access to a range of play resources for children.  The Department of Children and Youth Affairs has worked with key experts across various sectors, Early Years, Education, Health, Local Authorities, Academic Partners in UCC and Mary Immaculate College, Creative Ireland, Tusla and others, in order to develop this resource.                 

Launching Let’s Play Ireland Minister Zappone said:

“Let’s Play Ireland is a government-led initiative which is designed to remind us all, young and old, of the fundamental importance of play.   Playing is central to children’s physical, mental, social and emotional health and wellbeing.  Children learn through play while developing resilience, flexibility and understanding of their world. Play in families enriches childhood and, right now, in the midst of these uncertain and troubling times, play is more important than ever.  Play connects us with others and with the world around us. Play makes possible!

I want to stress that this initiative is by no means intended to create another pressure for busy parents.  Rather the opposite, it intends to provide positive reassurance to parents about simply allowing their children to play and supporting a positive environment for this. The Let’s Play Ireland website will provide information on playing in a time of crisis, the right to play, ideas for play, playful families, screen time during the crisis and useful links and resources.”

Additional resources will be continually developed and added to the Let’s Play Ireland online portal on Gov.ie. Over the coming weeks the campaign will focus on different themes including Early Years; Storytelling; Play for Play’s Sake;  Playful Learning; Play and Families; Play and Creativity and Play to Support Well Being

As well as activities for parents to enjoy with their children, the online resources also give tips on supporting children with their feelings, and ideas and activities for learning through play. The Department of Children and Youth Affairs hope the ideas on the website will encourage parents to support their children to use their imagination and own experiences to explore and make new discoveries – from role play, to creative arts, to light play, to malleable materials and many more. The website also includes ideas for how to use resources that can be found at home.

Over the coming weeks Laois County Council and other partner organisations will be promoting Let’s Play Ireland and highlighting local resources that have been put in place to encourage children’s play!  

The Office of Government Procurement recently launched a webpage to facilitate offers of assistance from businesses and other organisations that are seeking to provide supplies or services in support of the national response to Covid-19. The webpage is available at gov.ie/covidsupplies

Since Covid-19 arrived in Ireland, businesses and other organisations have been contacting Government and the HSE to offer their assistance with goods and services. A webpage has now been created to capture these offers in one central database, so that Government can ensure they are available to the right parts of the public service.

Commenting on the new webpage, which was developed by the Office of Government Procurement with support from the Office of the Government Chief Information Officer, the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform, Paschal Donohoe T.D. said: “In our time of great need, it is encouraging to learn of the extent of goodwill from businesses and organisations who are eager to offer assistance in whatever way they can. This new webpage, compiled by the Office of Government Procurement, will facilitate companies in their acts of altruism, making it easier for them to support the national response. We are experiencing a time of great global uncertainty, but we are all in this together. I would encourage all those with offers of support to get in touch using the website and I thank them for doing so.

“This new webpage can be accessed through the dedicated Covid-19 pages on gov.ie where businesses, and members of the public, can find accurate, up-to-date information and guidance on Government’s response to this challenge.”

Minister for Business, Enterprise and Innovation, Ms. Heather Humphreys T.D. said: “Ever since the scale of the challenge of Covid-19 became clear, businesses and organisations of all sizes, from right across the country, have come forward to offer their critical support to our public services. These offers of assistance have made a key contribution to our efforts to combat the spread of Covid-19 and I want to thank those behind each and every offer received.

“This new online portal will provide one central repository for all future offers and help ensure that we can direct them as efficiently as possible across the Government system. I would urge any business or organisation that is considering offering assistance to the State, to please register your support on gov.ie/covidsupplies”

Further information:

For businesses or organisations to offer their assistance, or to donate goods or services, they will need to provide a number of details, including:

• information concerning the goods or services they wish to supply;
• detail on the availability of goods; and
• contact details within the business or organisation.

The public services continue to receive the vast majority of the goods and services they require through existing contractual arrangements. Anything donated or supplied as part of this fight against Covid-19 will not be considered in any future government procurement. Please also be aware that PPE required by frontline public services are currently the priority, but this may change as the situation develops.

It should be noted that this database is provided solely for this emergency period. This service does not replace the normal procurement procedures already in place. Further information on Covid-19 (Coronavirus) and Public Procurement is available on the OGP website https://ogp.gov.ie/information-notes/

Due to Covid 19 the Council offices are closed to the public. Essential services are still be maintained and the below attachment lists the contact details to access those services by members of the public:

• Contact Details

Due to Covid-19 all Council buildings are closed to the public. The Council phone line 057 866 4000 remains open Monday –Friday 9 am to 5pm to deal with normal Council queries.

The Laois County Council Community Response Support Helpline is available on 1800 832 010 (8am to 8pm seven days a week)

The Helpline is to facilitate the most appropriate community response to the needs of vulnerable people living in the community where their usual sources of support have become unavailable due to COVID19.

Click HERE to visit our Community Response Support page

Laois County Council is acutely aware of the potential issues and unprecedented challenges facing ratepayers impacted by the current COVID–19 crisis.  Businesses in the County should contact the Council’s Rate Department or Revenue Collector to discuss their individual situations and agree appropriate arrangements.  

During this time of crisis and national public health emergency the Council continues to deliver essential services such as housing and homeless services, fire and emergency services, road maintenance and traffic safety, water supply and waste water treatment as well as waste and recycling services. 

Rates are a very significant source of income to this Council and it is critical that Ratepayers who can pay their commercial rates should continue to do so in the normal way. 

https://www.housing.gov.ie/local-government/covid-19-coronavirus/support-businesses-impacted-covid-19-through-commercial-rates. 

Contact the Commercial Rates Department at rates@laoiscoco.ie or by telephoning 057 8664000