Tralee

Many of you have been in contact over the past 24 hours querying the updates announced by the Government on the payment schemes, and a number of other key items.
We have updated all of our guides below, and have added a new section on Financial Supports from the lending Institutions to guide those of you looking at cashflow. 
Keep the calls and emails coming, we are here to assist you where we can, and if the query is specific in nature there are a number of consultants in Kerry who have offered their assistance to us and you during this time.

For those that haven't been advised, this link outlines those businesses affected by the current round of closures and measures, in particular, the non-essential retail classifications and the Health &amp; Beauty sector: <a href="https://www.gov.ie/en/publication/a7e66d-latest-guidance-on-public-health-measures/" target="_blank">https://www.gov.ie/en/publication/a7e66d-latest-guidance-on-public-health-measures/</a>. We are very conscious that thankfully a number of businesses continue to operate, though with home-working/ social distancing measures. To follow on from the homeworking technical supports information provided by JRI in Tralee, we will shortly be publishing a Home-Working Guide from Sigmar in Tralee to supporting Employers managing their remote teams - this guide will be available on our <a href="https://www.facebook.com/tralee.ie/" target="_blank">Facebook</a> page tomorrow. 
In relation to the supermarkets and pharmacies in particular that remain open, they still need ongoing support in recruiting temporary staff, so please share this with any staff who have been temporarily laid off, and ask that they call into these retailers. 
In relation to Business Rates, see below the note published by Kerry County Council in relation to the 'period to end June'. Government advice was for the period to the end of May. We will be seeking clarification on this from Kerry County Council: 
Ratepayers who have had to temporarily close or significantly curtail operations during the COVID-19 response period are advised to contact their local authority in relation to any rates payments falling due in the period to end June. If you have any queries or concerns, Kerry County Council’s Revenue Department can be contacted on 066 7162100 and <a href="mailto:revenue@kerrycoco.ie" target="_blank">revenue@kerrycoco.ie</a>
Notwithstanding this, please note YOU MUST MAKE CONTACT DIRECTLY with the Revenue Department of Kerry County Council yourself. Some businesses have assumed incorrectly that the deferral will happen for their business automatically, this is not the case. Secondly, this is only a deferral of payment, we are still continuing to lobby for a complete waiver of payment for an extended period of time. 
Rents continue to be an issue for some business owners, and as more businesses close the issue is increasing. Our advice as always is to first contact your landlord and explain your liquidity issues. Seek a pause of all commercial rents in the first instance, or discuss a favourable solution that works for both sides. In many cases, your landlord's income comes from his property, so this affects them as much as it does you. We continue to engage with the Government on this as a critical matter, where both tenants and landlords need support from the Government to resolve.
On the Insurance situation, with particular reference to Business Interruption Cover, we have discussed the ongoing concerns we have with the Kerry Branch of the IHF, and the Kerry branch of the VFI and all are concerned as to the lack of progress at national level on this matter. The CEOs of the Insurance Industry continue to engage with the Government on this matter. We do expect movement on the deferral or waiver of premiums for the period of closure but this will be ad-hoc. We advise all businesses to maintain cover, and if due, renew their premiums until this matter is resolved. Our guide below outlines the current issues on the Insurance matter. Through our partners in Chambers Ireland we have had engagements with Insurance Companies, the Department of An Taoiseach and the Department of Finance. We also encourage businesses to engage with their insurer and brokers continually on this matter.
&nbsp;As always the measures are classified into individual categories as follows:
FINANCIAL SUPPORTS <a href="https://tralee.ie/covid19-financial-support/" target="_blank">https://tralee.ie/covid19-financial-support</a> 
BUSINESS INSURANCE <a href="https://tralee.ie/covid19-insurance/" target="_blank">https://tralee.ie/covid19-insurance/</a>
COMMERCIAL RATES <a href="https://tralee.ie/covid19-commercial-rates/" target="_blank">https://tralee.ie/covid19-commercial-rates/</a>
BUSINESS SUPPORTS AVAILABLE <a href="https://tralee.ie/covid19-business-supports/" target="_blank">https://tralee.ie/covid19-business-supports/</a>&nbsp;
EMPLOYEE/EMPLOYER SUPPORTS <a href="https://tralee.ie/covid19-jobseekers-payments/" target="_blank">https://tralee.ie/covid19-jobseekers-payments/</a> 
BANKING, UTILITIES AND ESSENTIAL SERVICES <a href="https://tralee.ie/covid19-utilities-and-services/" target="_blank">https://tralee.ie/covid19-utilities-and-services/</a> 
BUSINESS CONTINUITY / OPERATING GUIDANCE <a href="https://tralee.ie/covid19-business-continuity/" target="_blank">https://tralee.ie/covid19-business-continuity/</a> 
WORKING FROM HOME TECHNICAL ADVICE <a href="https://tralee.ie/covid19-homeworking-supports/" target="_blank">https://tralee.ie/covid19-homeworking-supports/</a>&nbsp;
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COVID-19 Business Updates

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