Brendan Smith (Cavan-Monaghan, Fianna Fail)
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16. To ask the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment if urgent consideration will be given to the reintroduction of click-and-collect services for small and medium enterprises in the retail sector; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [18017/21]

Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael)
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I understand this is an incredibly difficult time for businesses across the country and I would like to thank them for their efforts at this difficult time. By each of us following the spirit of the rules and working together we can hopefully ease some restrictions soon.

S.I. No. 701 of 2020 Health Act 1947 (Section 31A - Temporary Restrictions) (COVID-19) (No. 10) Regulations 2020 and S.I. No. 4 of 2021 Health Act 1947 (Section 31A - Temporary Restrictions) (COVID-19) (No. 10) (Amendment) Regulations 2021 () clearly sets out the temporary restrictions under Level 5. A list of essential services can be found at and the list of essential retail outlets at Level 5 can be found at

Under Level 5, only essential retail outlets will remain open and all measures in Level 5 will stay in place until at least April 5 2021. Further information can be found on .

COVID-19 Resilience and Recovery 2021 - The Path Ahead, which can be found on , sets out the approach to the next phase, which is subject to ongoing review and taking into account the evolving epidemiological situation.

All decisions taken by Government on the timing of any lifting of restrictions are informed by the public health advice at the time.

Minister English has met regularly with Retail Forum members and representatives from the retail grocery and distribution sector to continuously discuss and assess adherence to the public health restrictions.

The Government has introduced a wide range of supports to help businesses impacted by the COVID-19 crisis and they can be found on the Department’s website

It is important to monitor gov.ie for the latest information, public health advice and guidelines from Government in relation to COVID-19.