No more than 10 people should attend funerals of loved ones - Government

That includes those who may have died from Covid-19, as long as social distancing is applied.

No more than 10 people should attend in places of worship and at the graveside, but this may be restricted further in smaller, enclosed spaces.

Individual churches may put in place special restrictions to respond to specific local circumstances.

Department of the Taoiseach senior official Liz Canavan clarified the Government advice on attendance at funerals, burials and cremations at the daily briefing on the State's response to Covid-19.

Ms Canavan said HSE guidance had already been issued and that further guidance is being developed and will be published shortly.

She also disclosed that there has been a year-on-year increase in the number of domestic violence incidents reported to An Garda Siochana since restrictions have been introduced.

Vulnerable

Ms Canavan said Garda policy was to ensure any victim received a personal call back, which can be via phone, within seven days or sooner.

The senior official also advised that the 460,000 people in the country who are over 70, in receipt of a State pension, and are now being advised to cocoon themselves, may nominate an agent to collect their pension.

Bank of Ireland has also developed a new support service for the elderly and vulnerable who are cocooning which allows them to nominate another person to make cash withdrawals and lodgements in branch on their behalf.

Ms Canavan reminded the public that the health service continues to operate and anyone in need of urgent or emergency care, including if they have symptoms of a stroke or heart attack, should go to the Emergency Department or call an ambulance.

She also disclosed that nearly 26,000 employers have now registered for the Government's temporary wage subsidy scheme and some €22.8m has been paid out by Revenue.

Irish Water has decided to postpone the introduction of a new tariff framework for business industry, agriculture, charities, and public bodies.

Testing

Ms Canavan said work is ongoing on the development of a new Covid-19 mobile app which will provide real-time symptom tracking and contact tracing.

Officials in the Department of Health, HSE and the Government's chief information officer are testing the new app, but there is no timeline for when it may be made available to the public.