Ireland

DUBLIN, April 19 (Xinhua) -- The second batch of personal protective equipment (PPE) ordered from China is expected to arrive in Ireland soon, the Irish national radio and television broadcaster RTE reported on Sunday, quoting an official.

Paul Reid, head of the Health Service Executive (HSE), a state agency responsible for public health service in Ireland, was quoted as saying at an HSE weekly briefing that the delivery of the second batch of PPE ordered by the Irish government from China had commenced on Saturday.

DUBLIN (Reuters) - Ireland is highly unlikely to allow large gatherings this year and the “cocooning” of people over 70 years old in their homes may persist for quite a while, Health Minister Simon Harris said on Sunday.

“What’s not going to come back quickly are scenarios in which we can’t safely socially distance,” Harris told the Sunday Independent newspaper in an interview.

“I can’t see how people can be in packed pubs again as long as this virus is still with us and we don’t have a vaccine or an effective treatment.”

DUBLIN (Reuters) - Ireland may have to bring in more stringent checks at its airports to ensure the coronavirus remains contained whenever the country eases stay-home restrictions, Health Minister Simon Harris said on Friday.

“I would not rule out the fact that we may need to be more stringent in relation to our airports, particularly as we move out of the very, very, very serious restrictions that are in place,” Harris told the Newstalk radio station in an interview.

DUBLIN (Reuters) - Ireland will not need to extend a temporary residential rent freeze beyond the coronavirus crisis, Acting Prime Minister Leo Varadkar was quoted as saying on Sunday, amid calls from some parties for more permanent rent caps.

Even before the crisis, the issue of rent control was already a major focus of attempts to form a government after an inconclusive election in February. Varadkar’s Fine Gael party is in negotiations with its historic rival, Fianna Fail, to try to form a coalition.

DUBLIN, April 7 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Ireland’s prime minister Leo Varadkar has re-registered as a medical practitioner and will work one shift a week to help out during the coronavirus crisis, his office said.

Varadkar worked as a doctor for seven years before leaving the profession to become a politician and was removed from the medical register in 2013.

New York, Apr 3 (AFP/PTI) Irish aircraft leasing company Avolon said Friday it was canceling an order for 75 737 MAX planes due to the massive deterioration in travel because of COVID-19.

The planes being canceled had been scheduled for delivery in the 2020-2023 timeframe. Avolon also pushed back delivery of 16 other 737 MAX planes to 2024 or later and also annulled a plan to buy four Airbus A330neo aircraft.

DUBLIN, March 18 (NNN-Xinhua) — Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar called on the public to be fully prepared for a prolonged impact of the coronavirus outbreak in the country and promised that his government will do whatever it requires to do in the battle against the disease.

In a national televised speech, Varadkar said Ireland is “in the midst of a global and national emergency — a pandemic, the likes of which none of us has seen before.”

DUBLIN, March 17 (Xinhua) -- Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar Tuesday called on the public to be fully prepared for a prolonged impact of the coronavirus outbreak in the country and promised that his government will do whatever it requires to do in the battle against the disease.

In a national televised speech, Varadkar said Ireland is "in the midst of a global and national emergency -- a pandemic, the likes of which none of us has seen before."

DUBLIN (Reuters) - Britain’s Prince William arrived in Dublin on Tuesday with his wife Kate in a show of friendship with a neighbor on the first official trip abroad by senior royals since Brexit.

William wore a green tie and Kate a green coat and dress as they stepped off a commercial Aer Lingus flight. It was William’s first official trip to the Republic of Ireland, nearly a decade after his grandmother Queen Elizabeth made history with the first visit by a reigning British monarch.

DUBLIN, Feb 21 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Ireland’s Fianna Fail will start formal talks next week to try to form a government from a fractured parliament as contenders for prime minister fell well short of doing so at the first sitting since the Feb 8 election.

Left-wing nationalists Sinn Fein shocked the establishment by securing the most votes but ran too few candidates to win the most seats, instead leaving it, centre-right Fianna Fail and Prime Minister Leo Varadkar’s Fine Gael each controlling just under a quarter of the parliament.