Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 14 January 2021
242. Deputy Seán Haughey asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if he will permit local gardeners to provide commercial gardening services during the current Covid-19 level 5 restrictions; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [1952/21]
View answerFor public health reasons, the Government has advised that people should stay at home except in a number of limited situations, including if they are travelling to and from work where the work is considered to be an essential service. Those essential service providers are listed on the Government website Gov.ie. Those specifically dealing with the agriculture and horticulture sector sector can be viewed at https://www.gov.ie/en/publication/c9158-essential-services/#agriculture-horticulture-forestry-fishing-animal-welfare-and-related-services.
Definitions of essential services in sectors are based on expert advice from the National Public Health Emergency Team (NPHET) and are kept under ongoing review by that group, with the over-riding consideration being the protection of public health in the context of the current Covid-19 pandemic.
It is a matter for each company/individual to assess, based on the current published information, whether they are involved in providing any of the essential services currently permitted.
