The week that was

MONDAY

AS THE first phase of easing the lockdown begins, there is nervousness among health officials that cases of coronavirus could creep up again.

Hundreds of garden centres, DIY stores and golf courses are reopening, while some construction workers are returning to sites.

And, for the first time in two months, four people from different households are allowed to meet outside, albeit while maintaining a two-metre physical distance and staying within 5km of their homes.

TUESDAY

A FRESH mortgage arrears crisis is “inevitable” due to the pandemic, a report from a leading academic has warned. The new research suggests a largely Stateowned lender has been driving repossession cases and calls into question the level of supervision being provided by the Central Bank of Ireland (CBI).

Dr Padraic Kenna (pictured), director of the Centre for Housing Law, Rights and Policy at NUI Galway, said given the economic impact of the coronavirus, it was important that mistakes of the past were not repeated.

WEDNESDAY

THE massive costs of the coronavirus crisis are mounting, with fears that extra spending on the National Children’s Hospital (NCH) could run up to hundreds of millions of euro over the next year.

The Dáil probe into the State’s response to the emergency heard the cost of the NCH project – which had spiralled before the pandemic and was already due to hit at least €1.7bn – could rise by 40pc, based on Construction Industry Federation (CIF) estimates on the impact of new protocols for building sites, bringing the final bill to €2.4bn.

THURSDAY

DEPUTY leader of the Greens, Catherine Martin, secured enough nominations to contest party leadership within hours of the contest starting. More than 60 members contacted the party saying they support Ms Martin’s candidacy against Eamon Ryan (pictured).

FRIDAY

THE Government is scrambling to come up with a solution after a teachers’ union plunged the Leaving Cert into fresh chaos.

More than 60,000 students face new uncertainty after the Association of Secondary Teachers Ireland (ASTI) rejected the legal protection being offered to teachers for the calculated grades process.