Republic of Ireland

Due to new lockdowns in Ireland, the United Kingdom and some other EU countries, the Irish low-cost airline Ryanair is drastically cutting its flight offerings starting January 21, the company announced Thursday.

From January 21, Ryanair plans to operate "few, if any" flights to and from British and Irish airports. This will apply until the severe travel restrictions are lifted.

More countries are banning flights from the UK after the discovery of a new Covid-19 variant that is said to spread much faster. Canada is banning UK travellers for at least 72 hours. Several South American countries followed suit on Sunday, including Argentina, Chile and Colombia. British flights are banned from landing in the Republic of Ireland on Monday and Tuesday. After France suspended travel from and to the UK, both the Eurotunnel and Port of Dover were closed.

Reuters reports that the White House is considering lifting travel bans for Brazil, UK, Ireland and numerous European countries. Even though President Trump has not made a final decision on the matter, the White House coronavirus task-force, as well as public health and federal agencies, back the plan to reopen the borders for international travel.

The Education Minister of Ireland, Norma Foley, has announced that all Irish students will receive a no-homework day in order to reward them for "working very hard" during the pandemic. She added that "Their teacher will decide what day the children can use it someday between now and Christmas".

The Irish Prime Minister Micheál Martin has announced that nationwide level 5 restrictions will be imposed from Wednesday night on and last until the beginning of December. This means that all residents must limit their movements to a five-kilometer radius of their homes and can't visit the homes of others.

In addition, most retail shops must close while a few services that are deemed essential can stay open.

Following an announcement of Facebook Ireland's head of data protection Yvonne Cunnane, it is not clear how the company "could continue to provide the Facebook and Instagram services in the EU" following a preliminary order to stop the data transfer of European customers to servers based in the United States.

Ireland’s Data Protection Commission (DPC) had voiced concerns over possible surveillance of the data by the United States government.

The chairman of Fáilte Ireland, Michael Cawley, has resigned after the Irish Independent revealed that he traveled to Italy despite the country advising citizens to avoid trips abroad that are non-essential.

In addition, Fáilte Ireland has launched a "no place like home" marketing campaign to encourage people to stay inside the country.

Cawley, who is the former chief operating officer of Ryanair, has stated that he does not "wish to allow this issue to become a distraction from the important work of Fáilte Ireland in rebuilding the Irish tourism industry" and that he is in support of the government's tourism policy.

TikTok announced Thursday it would invest €420million in establishing a data centre in Ireland. The company states all European user data will be stored in this new location when the data centre is operational in early 2022.

In a press release, the company states: "Protecting our community's privacy and data is and will continue to be our priority. Today's announcement is just the latest part of our ongoing work to enhance our global capability and efforts to protect our users and the TikTok community."

The real-estate tycoon Ivan Ko has proposed plans to build a city from scratch on Ireland between Dublin and Belfast for 50,000 emigrants from Hong Kong.

Originally he had planned to find a 500 sq km site to build his vision for 500,000 Hongkongers but drastically scaled that down after he talked to the Irish government. He stated that "we found out that replicating the Hong Kong model was not suitable, as if we were imposing something, and that Hong Kong people would be seen as segregated from the rest of the population. So we changed to another model".

The new city will be called Nextpolis and follow the political system of the host country and should integrate with local business as he wants to build a "new city to let Hong Kong people live together" and "maximise the benefits to both sides".

The Taoiseach (Prime Minister) of Ireland Micheál Martin has announced that from Monday on wearing face coverings on public transport will be compulsory and non-compliance will can be penalized with fines up to €2,500 and/or six months in prison.

Exempt from the rules will be children under the age of 13, as well as people that have trouble breathing or that can not remove the face covering without help.

He also stated that people outside of public transport are encouraged to wear face coverings during social gatherings where social distancing does not work.

The Dáil is meeting this morning, and Fianna Fáil leader Micheál Martin is expected to be elected Taoiseach, heading a new coalition government involving his party, Fine Gael and the Green Party.

Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael have their origins in the Irish Civil War almost 100 years ago and have never been in coalition together.

After the deal was endorsed on Friday evening, Mr Martin described it as a "moment of opportunity and hope".

The meeting will take place at the Convention Centre Dublin, rather than at Leinster House to allow for social distancing required during the Covid-19 pandemic.

The Irish budget airline Ryanair is in negotiations with its trade unions and employees about a series of cost-cutting measures. With the Covid-19 pandemic reducing passengers by more than 5 million and a presumed €200 million first quarter loss, the airline plans to cut around 3,000 jobs and is working out unpaid leave and pay cuts with its employees.

BBC reports UK airlines have been told the government will impose a 14-day quarantine for anyone arriving in the UK from any country apart from the Republic of Ireland to try to avoid a second peak of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Travellers arriving in the UK will have to provide the address and then self-isolate at a private residence. It is not clear if non-UK residents will be allowed to stay in rented private accommodation.

"We need to see the details of what they are proposing", said Airlines UK, which represents British Airways, EasyJet and other UK-based airlines, in a statement.