We need your help now
Support from readers like you keeps The Journal open.
You are visiting us because we have something you value. Independent, unbiased news that tells the truth. Advertising revenue goes some way to support our mission, but this year it has not been enough.
If you've seen value in our reporting, please contribute what you can, so we can continue to produce accurate and meaningful journalism. For everyone who needs it.
Sign in. It’s quick, free and it’s up to you.
An account is an optional way to support the work we do. Find out more.
By continuing, you are indicating that you accept our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy.
EMPLOYERS IN THE private sector may have to set out specific policy for their employees as to what to do in the event of a red alert weather warning.
The measure, which could come into effect next year, comes after there was widespread confusion among workers and employers during Storm Ophelia last month as to whether people should travel to work after Met Eireann issued its highest warning.
The widow of a young father who died while driving home during Storm Ophelia has written to Oireachtas members in Louth, where the family lived with their two children, saying a set of such regulations are needed to remove the confusion for employers about whether staff need to come into work during a severe storm.
Pamela Goss’ husband, Fintan Goss died when he was driving home from work during Storm Ophelia when a tree fell on his car.
Housing Minister Eoghan Murphy told the Sean O’Rourke programme on RTE Radio One yesterday that they could have offered clearer guidance to the public.
‘Lessons learned’
“In December I will have a report on lessons learned and part of that report will talk about how we can work with private enterprise to make sure they have actions in place for when a status red alert occurs.
“Now we were very clear on that day, the message was stay indoors as this storm passes you. In some parts of the country it only passed for a very brief period of time,” he said, adding:
Businesses have different ways of working today and we feel it is for the businesses to decide what is in the best interests of the safety of their employees.
It’s understood the new report will not recommend that the government instruct all private businesses to close during a red weather alert, with one source stating that the “government is not in the business of directing companies to shut down”.
By doing so, the government could be held liable for any losses incurred by giving such an instruction.
Instead, it is envisaged the report will recommend that all companies in the private sector will have to draft a standardised policy as to what their employees must do in the event of a red warning weather alert or disaster, and specifically deal with whether employees should turn up for work.
The specifics as to what each business does in the case of such an event will be up to the company to decide.
However one well-placed government source said each employer has a duty of care to their employees and that should be reflected in the policy drawn up for each company.
Red alert
TD Peter Fitzpatrick said the Goss family have many questions about what happened on the day in question, such as – what are the rules or guidance for employers in respect of dangers during a status red weather warning? What guidelines were issued to employers, the self-employed and those working in the public sector.
“Much has been made of the correct decision to close every school in the country in the interests of safety. However, there was widespread confusion before, during and after Storm Ophelia as to the position regarding private sector employers and other parts of the public sector,” Fitzpatrick told the Dáil this week.
Taoiseach Leo Varadkar acknowledged that there was confusion regarding what private sector businesses and self-employed persons should do during a red weather alert.
He said the report on how Ireland responded to the storm will be submitted to Cabinet in January 2018.
Fitzpatrick said that while the Taoiseach conveyed his condolences of the country and government to the Goss family, the “fine words” are of little comfort to them.
“We acknowledge that there is a shortcoming in this area from which we intend to learn. I hope we will give some clarity on this issue on which we should have an answer by January,” said the Taoiseach.
To embed this post, copy the code below on your site
Garden looks a bit naff.
It does, it’s disappointing to look at. Bland, vacant & overlooked, it’s exposed and seems to lack seating and focus.
Yes I agree it’s overlooked to look at
Fiona, courtyard gardens, indeed courtyards, do tend to be overlooked. Pretty much unavoidable. Just what a private outdoor pool is for, in a New York winter, is another matter. Oh, of course, a demonstration of wealth.
Their not safe from the paparazzi drones on that balcony haha
@Joseph Siddall: Have to seen a new york summer ? you would be crying for the swimming pool.
A news article about a “paparazzi proof building”. Does anyone see the ironry in this ?
@Mike Dowling: haha true, it even lists the street address
best bit is the carpark
That graden looks asylum ish. What a sterile block of sterility
Its a great location. Near the river and overlooking ellis island. No skyscrapers in greenwich so i bet some of those penthouses have spectacular views and river breezes. Wow. A stones throw from east village too. Manhatten is crazy now. Min price anywhere is 1 million dollars.
Use precise geolocation data. Actively scan device characteristics for identification. Store and/or access information on a device. Personalised advertising and content, advertising and content measurement, audience research and services development.
These cookies are necessary for the website to function and cannot be switched off in our systems. They are usually only set in response to actions made by you which amount to a request for services, such as setting your privacy preferences, logging in or filling in forms. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not then work.
These cookies may be set through our site by our advertising partners. They may be used by those companies to build a profile of your interests and show you relevant adverts on other sites. They do not store directly personal information, but are based on uniquely identifying your browser and internet device. If you do not allow these cookies, you will experience less targeted advertising.
These cookies enable the website to provide enhanced functionality and personalisation. They may be set by us or by third party providers whose services we have added to our pages. If you do not allow these cookies then these services may not function properly.
These cookies allow us to count visits and traffic sources so we can measure and improve the performance of our site. They help us to know which pages are the most and least popular and see how visitors move around the site. All information these cookies collect is aggregated and therefore anonymous. If you do not allow these cookies we will not be able to monitor our performance.
Cookies, device or similar online identifiers (e.g. login-based identifiers, randomly assigned identifiers, network based identifiers) together with other information (e.g. browser type and information, language, screen size, supported technologies etc.) can be stored or read on your device to recognise it each time it connects to an app or to a website, for one or several of the purposes presented here.
Advertising presented to you on this service can be based on limited data, such as the website or app you are using, your non-precise location, your device type or which content you are (or have been) interacting with (for example, to limit the number of times an ad is presented to you).
Information about your activity on this service (such as forms you submit, content you look at) can be stored and combined with other information about you (for example, information from your previous activity on this service and other websites or apps) or similar users. This is then used to build or improve a profile about you (that might include possible interests and personal aspects). Your profile can be used (also later) to present advertising that appears more relevant based on your possible interests by this and other entities.
Advertising presented to you on this service can be based on your advertising profiles, which can reflect your activity on this service or other websites or apps (like the forms you submit, content you look at), possible interests and personal aspects.
Information about your activity on this service (for instance, forms you submit, non-advertising content you look at) can be stored and combined with other information about you (such as your previous activity on this service or other websites or apps) or similar users. This is then used to build or improve a profile about you (which might for example include possible interests and personal aspects). Your profile can be used (also later) to present content that appears more relevant based on your possible interests, such as by adapting the order in which content is shown to you, so that it is even easier for you to find content that matches your interests.
Content presented to you on this service can be based on your content personalisation profiles, which can reflect your activity on this or other services (for instance, the forms you submit, content you look at), possible interests and personal aspects. This can for example be used to adapt the order in which content is shown to you, so that it is even easier for you to find (non-advertising) content that matches your interests.
Information regarding which advertising is presented to you and how you interact with it can be used to determine how well an advert has worked for you or other users and whether the goals of the advertising were reached. For instance, whether you saw an ad, whether you clicked on it, whether it led you to buy a product or visit a website, etc. This is very helpful to understand the relevance of advertising campaigns.
Information regarding which content is presented to you and how you interact with it can be used to determine whether the (non-advertising) content e.g. reached its intended audience and matched your interests. For instance, whether you read an article, watch a video, listen to a podcast or look at a product description, how long you spent on this service and the web pages you visit etc. This is very helpful to understand the relevance of (non-advertising) content that is shown to you.
Reports can be generated based on the combination of data sets (like user profiles, statistics, market research, analytics data) regarding your interactions and those of other users with advertising or (non-advertising) content to identify common characteristics (for instance, to determine which target audiences are more receptive to an ad campaign or to certain contents).
Information about your activity on this service, such as your interaction with ads or content, can be very helpful to improve products and services and to build new products and services based on user interactions, the type of audience, etc. This specific purpose does not include the development or improvement of user profiles and identifiers.
Content presented to you on this service can be based on limited data, such as the website or app you are using, your non-precise location, your device type, or which content you are (or have been) interacting with (for example, to limit the number of times a video or an article is presented to you).
With your acceptance, your precise location (within a radius of less than 500 metres) may be used in support of the purposes explained in this notice.
With your acceptance, certain characteristics specific to your device might be requested and used to distinguish it from other devices (such as the installed fonts or plugins, the resolution of your screen) in support of the purposes explained in this notice.
Your data can be used to monitor for and prevent unusual and possibly fraudulent activity (for example, regarding advertising, ad clicks by bots), and ensure systems and processes work properly and securely. It can also be used to correct any problems you, the publisher or the advertiser may encounter in the delivery of content and ads and in your interaction with them.
Certain information (like an IP address or device capabilities) is used to ensure the technical compatibility of the content or advertising, and to facilitate the transmission of the content or ad to your device.
Information about your activity on this service may be matched and combined with other information relating to you and originating from various sources (for instance your activity on a separate online service, your use of a loyalty card in-store, or your answers to a survey), in support of the purposes explained in this notice.
In support of the purposes explained in this notice, your device might be considered as likely linked to other devices that belong to you or your household (for instance because you are logged in to the same service on both your phone and your computer, or because you may use the same Internet connection on both devices).
Your device might be distinguished from other devices based on information it automatically sends when accessing the Internet (for instance, the IP address of your Internet connection or the type of browser you are using) in support of the purposes exposed in this notice.
The choices you make regarding the purposes and entities listed in this notice are saved and made available to those entities in the form of digital signals (such as a string of characters). This is necessary in order to enable both this service and those entities to respect such choices.
have your say