Last Friday, the Health (Preservation and Protection and other Emergency Measures in the Public Interest) Act, 2020 (the “Act”) was signed into law by President Michael D Higgins. This is the Government’s first legislative response to the coronavirus crisis. The purpose of this Briefing Note is to summarise the provisions of the Act for Philip Lee clients.

Why is this legislation being introduced?

As Ireland has moved to the “delay phase” in its response to the coronavirus, the aim of the Government is to keep the number of affected people to a minimum and reduce pressure on the health service.

With this in mind, the Government have introduced “social distancing” measures, a term we are now all familiar with. So far, this has resulted in the closure of schools, pubs and restaurants, the limitation of public and private gatherings of people and a substantial amount of the Irish workforce now working from home, where possible.

The Act has two main aims:-

• provide enhanced income support for workers who are required to self-isolate or who lose their jobs; and
• provide the Government with certain powers to prevent the spread of the coronavirus as far as is possible.

What restrictions on public gatherings or travel does the Act allow for?

The Act amends (and arguably expands upon) the powers conferred on the Minister for Heath under certain sections of the Health Act, 1947, which were originally introduced to curb the spread of tuberculosis.

Specifically, the Act gives the Minister powers to do the following:-

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