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DESPITE THE RETURN of many sectors of the economy as Ireland goes through the phases of re-opening, one piece of advice from March remains the same: anyone who can work from home is still being advised to do so.
It means large swathes of workers are still working from home and, with no public health guidance yet provided on when people can return to offices, they may continue to be for some time.
The large-scale move to home working during Covid-19 has seen the government launch a public consultation seeking input from businesses and workers on how it can improve guidelines on working from home.
Tánaiste Leo Varadkar has said the government wants remote working and home working to become part “of the new normal” and “if done right, the benefits are huge”.
The purported advantages of home working are said to include a better work-life balance, fewer emissions through the use of cars, less traffic on the roads and reduced costs for businesses.
Working from home, however, is not without its difficulties. The Dáil heard this week that many people in the rural Cork village of Gaggan were spending their day in a church car park so they could get access to WiFi. This problem of unsatisfactory broadband is one replicated across the country.
And there are further issues that can crop up for people having to work from home.
Personal experiences
TheJournal.ie has spoken to a number of people who’ve detailed their working from home experiences while also trying to juggle family life at the same time.
Ellen is a communications manager and a mother-of-two in Galway. Having already worked remotely for the past decade, she does enjoy the benefits but acknowledges it can be tough at times.
“It was a game changer for me, after years of commuting into town, dropping the kids to the minder in the dark mornings and running frantically everywhere,” she said.
“The switch to remote was a massive relief for me and my family. My kids were happier to see me more and we had a better balance. That’s the good news.
The bad news was that over time, I made all the mistakes that you shouldn’t make when it comes to remote working. I didn’t have clear boundaries, I worked way more hours than I would have in the office and I was constantly checking my phone for messages. I found it hard to switch off. I felt burnt out and had to stop, reassess my whole life and I’m glad to say I have much improved my setup now and I do lots of self-care, exercise and have found the balance again.
Ellen said that, overall, working from home can be a blessing for many and she was glad to see the government actively looking at developing guidelines around it.
‘Much more challenging’
David is a senior financial services manager and a father-of-two based in Dublin.
He told TheJournal.ie the demands of remote working during the pandemic were tougher to get to grips with.
“I’m no stranger to working remotely and would often be working quite late at night and on the laptop at home out of my work hours,” he said. “However, through the Covid-19 changes I found the whole setup much more challenging.
“It was much more unstructured and I found it hard to get my day going. I really missed my routine and the ad hoc nature of interacting with colleagues in the office. I find that’s often where the business movement happens in an office, whereas when you’re at home you have to make structured arrangements to catch up on Zoom or whatever you’re using.
In relation to my team, I found that they struggled a bit. Many were internalising a lot of problems because they didn’t feel get that sense of cohesion, being part of a team. We identified that as at trend from early on and worked hard to help them with it.
David said he’s actually found he misses the work commute, because of the way it helps you to detox from the day as you go home.
He said: “Because of this, I feel it’s harder to switch off from work when you’re based at home.
This was a big challenge for me in the past few months. I found I was quite ‘wired’ after my day and wasn’t really present for my wife and children as much as I normally would be after work.
‘The benefits outweigh the negatives’
Jen, a programme manager in Dublin and a mother-of-three, told TheJournal.ie that her workplace was quite progressive so workers were used to remote working before the arrival of Covid-19.
“The majority of staff adjusted really well and we used Teams and Zoom to meet on a regular basis,” she said.
“This has meant that we are more connected than ever and multiple teams are working together in a much more productive way. However I know that many staff have struggled with childcare, living alone, house sharing and also the stress and strain of both parents working full time and minding children.”
Both Jen and her husband are working from home and, with children of school-going age, it’s proving difficult to manage work and childcare at the same time.
She said: “I find that I am losing the ability to set boundaries for myself and my concentration levels are much lower than normal. However I am proud of the way I have coped and continue to be productive even when I’ve three kids continuously interrupting me.
The benefits of working from home outweigh the negatives, especially the constant stress of getting the kids to school and then heading to the office. We have all now had the opportunity to work in a more flexible, family friendly way which has allowed us to reconnect with our community and step away from the daily grind of the commute.
Hopefully we can hold on to some of this freedom and ask our employers to give us some autonomy so that we can continue to work from home – although I for one really hope the schools open in September!
Employers’ obligations
There are also a number of health and safety requirements that employers are still subject to, even though their staff could be working from within their own homes.
For the purposes of the Safety, Health and Welfare at Work Act (2005), employers still have a duty to employees regarding their health and safety while working from home.
It’s incumbent on businesses to provide safe equipment to staff, assess risks and implement control measures and also provide training and supervision when regarding the health and safety of employees.
And it’s not just health and safety. Employers must still ensure they adhere to issues around the likes of bullying and work-related stress, ensure staff get their proper breaks and holidays, provide equipment, protect their personal data, prove adequate training and ensure all employees are treated equally.
According to guidance from the Health and Safety Authority (HSA), there are a number of “key duties” for businesses to make sure they comply with the legislation when it comes to the work activity and workspace of their staff.
It includes making staff aware of any specific risks regarding working from home, and ensuring that the work activity and temporary workspace are suitable to work from.
Employers are also advised to provide suitable equipment to enable the work to be done – if the staff member doesn’t have this equipment already – and ensure there is a pre-arranged means of making contact.
In the Department of Business’ guidance on the topic, it says: “The responsibility for health and safety at work rests with the employer regardless of whether an employee works remotely.
In the context of temporary homeworking during the outbreak of Covid-19, the HSA advises that where employees feel added stress from the location of their work, the employer should act reasonably. As such, where stress complaints do arise, these should be met with considered, systematic and appropriate control measures.
Employers should ensure that [Employment Equality] legislation is being adhered to regardless of whether their employees are based remotely or not.
With reporting from Laura Byrne
Can the providers please update their coverage first… I have no coverage most of the time at home and at work, ridiculous at this day and age paying for a service that is not even functioning!!!
Change your provider
Same problem, We have been with Vodafone, Meteor and 3 at this stage and the same shite coverage.. Next option at this stage is to move house!!!
In all fairness, Bernie, you live nearly in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean (west, west, wesht Kerry).
Your expectations of good coverage are a little high?
Do you want your own mobile tower for you and your neighbor (singular) all to yourself? ;-)
And is it too much to expect to get the same services that the rest of the country get even if I do live next to the Atlantic ocean, the country is not that big for God’s sake… Does that mean that San Francisco or anywhere on the far western seaboard in the USA should’nt expect to get decent coverage or services ‘cos they live nearly in the middle if the Pacific ocean’!!! Get real in this day and age and in this era of so called technology!!!
Sorry bernie but there is a thing called supply and demand. If you have phone line there is options to increase your mobile signal locally. You might look into that option.
Not just a rural problem, I was in Ballyboden last week & had to go outside to get a mobile signal.
Doesnt work like that bernie.
If it was financialy viable to erect a cell in your area they would.
Though if they did folk out ‘wesht’ would no doubt protest about the waves frying ur brain or something.
When the far west is a city the size of san fran, then you can expect good coverage. My point is not how near you are to the sea, it is that you are in a remote region with very sparse population.
I imagine it is a lovely place to live, but living in an isolated area will have its drawbacks. You cannot expect to have it both ways – delivering services at the same level of a city is very costly.
Bernie, you are asking for the same treatment as the rest of the country… Well how about when we in Dublin each get our own phone mast then you can have one too? I’m probably right in guessing that there are less people using your mast than there are using the one nearest my home.
I live in Dublin 15…..no coverage in house, neighbours report same problem
Joey’s right. Some idiot would be about protesting about radio waves. Idiots.
Look I and all of my counterparts pay just as much taxes as you people in Dublin, but yet we do not get the same services, come on let’s be honest about this… I also pay “USC” tax, Prop Tax, Car Tax(for shite roads) at least you have good roads.. all I am saying at this day and age is it not too much to expect to at least have good coverage all over the Country for mobile phones…oh yea on the 5th Oct 2013 there was NO coverage where I live all because we had a “Féile Bia” and that attracted at least 7000 ppl into the penininsula.. And you tell me about Demand and Supply!! I know that is for one day but I can assure you it happens a way more than that on a normal day!!! Why do they take our money if they cannot deliver the service???
Why do you give them money if they don’t deliver a service?
Another silly thing Apple do to control their products
You’re an idiot.
Even my samsung S3 has 4G capability!! Apple will always be playing catch up
Yes but do you have 4G running on it? No, you don’t. That’s the point.
The iPhone 5, 5C and 5S all have 4G capability
@enda Are you sure? Do you have the Lte version?
@karol How do you know he doesn’t? There’s nothing stopping him, 4g SIM on a 4g network and he’s away.
Ha ha…. but do you live in a 4g area…. bet you didn’t think of that one… :-/ android all the way…
You can live without 4G. The 3G speeds in certain parts of Dublin City are more than enough for general users. I’m sure that the “verification” by Apple is to ensure a top user experience. Can’t complain with that.
… Apple fan boy
Android fan boy
Steve jobs would hate apple if he was born again today, a huge company that controls everything the users can do, try download U torrent on iTunes store. You can’t, while its on the play store for all the rest of us and we can download all the free albums and movies we want for free. I read his autobiography he invented apple for to take down the big corporate company that saves all your information and look at what they have become.
I have no interest on watching films on my phone. And I have a fantastic app called Anyplay that streams every single album there ever was for free to my phone. So I don’t need utorrent at all. Enjoy downloading a nice aul virus your dirt phone. I’ll enjoy a secure, beautiful, perfect piece of technology.
The way you are talking about your phone is pretty creepy man.
Karol, tell me more about this anyplay app.
Karl that’s cos your tiny iPhone screen is too small right?
I think you’ll find it was Wozniak that want everything for free with apple. (Open source. Not sure if that’s the right term.) Jobs didn’t. He wanted to control everything. What happens when artists stop making music because they are no longer making any money because you and all your android mates are downloading it for free
Yeah I’m here downloading kanye west and the likes new albums I don’t think they have enough money maybe we should start up a fund and do a whip around the poor lad is broke. Anyway I’ll keep going with my free ebooks, music and movies that I can all put through my tv(not just watching on my phone). And you keep buying apples “new” phones and being limited.
Daniel, having a slightly bigger screen wouldn’t make a blind bit of difference to me. I don’t even watch films on my Ipad. I like a big tv screen for that.
Emmet,
The app no longer exists. I assume because it’s like a free version of spotify and was taken down. It still works fine though as long as you have it. Sorry to disappoint you but it is by far the best app I have ever had.
It can no longer be downloaded…and you are defending apple for being amazing and they take away a great app…FACEPALM.
It’s not on android either. FACEPALM..
Could ye all stop wrecking heads please, ye sound like yer 8.
Thought we have been through this already… Don’t need the app can download all the music I want straight to my phone no need to stream.
@jack not everyone that has a smartphone lives in dublin.
Sorry Johnny,
Forgive me,
I’m 9 by the way
Yes but leave the cretins alone to buy the ios kit whilst we reap the rewards of uncontrolled media content. They aren’t computer literate. They have iTunes we have wrzko.
Good lad Elvis.
Hey popey ye got out of jail yesterday.remember my prediction I made during the summer?are you worried yet?
It may surprise you elephant but I don’t remember your prediction. Probably because I couldn’t give a bollix. What happened to your picture
I’m sure Apple couldn’t give fiddlers about the user experience “verification”, a nice thick brown envelope stuffed with cash is what they are really after.
I’m undergoing a makeover at the moment.does mid table team jog your memory?
No, it doesn’t. 6 points is nothing nelly the elephant. Nothing I tell you
Ha!ye couldn’t even score in the champions league during the week.why did the players congratulate Rooney for hittin the post before the og?things are bad when the pat him on the back for hitting the post
Ha ha you’re insane. Who else would they congratulate. He murdered the team turned them inside out and hit the post with a beautiful effort. Lethal player
He didnt score though.will they congratulate him for turning up next?clutching at straws
The last person the touch the ball before the og always gets congratulated. #stoptalkingshite
Apple fan boy? It’s Samsung fan boys and iPhone w@nkers!
Yes Karl but u can plug your android into your big screen I have my I pad my I phone 4 but my s3 plugs into my TV no Netflix r anything needed
Now now Daniel Wilson, don’t be slagging Karol’s tiny screen, it’s perfectly well designed to fit in his handbag.
So you condone theft then Paul? Or did I misinterpret you??
Yes they do……
Both Apple AND Samsung insist on certifying their devices for use on LTE/4G networks. The tests focus on generous continuous coverage, data speeds and handoff to seamless legacy technologies.
I’m surprised with Meteor/Eircom already launched that certification is still going on – might say something about the speed the rollout of their 4G.
You clearly have no clue about the role Steve Jobs played in making apple the closed proprietary ecosystem it is today.
This country has the worse Internet infrastructure I’ve ever witnessed! They have high speed broadband on top of Everest, in the outback in Oz, in tiny huts in Africa and were only a fraction in size and we can’t cover the area! We’re a laughing stock! Dial up all over again!
I have never heard such complete bullshit.
You need to move to a hut in the outback of Everest Karol.
You’ll hear it all from there.
Ireland is in the top 85% globally with our broadband.. you haven’t clue!
The only internet connection achievable on top Everest would be -
Satellite
Poor bandwidth, poor latency
The only internet connection available in somewhere remote like the Oz outback would be again (Satellite)
What exactly do you know about Internet infrastructure in Africa? Internet connectivity, from my experience, is moderate to poor even in the largest cities (Nairobi, Lagos, Johannesburg) I think you’re talking out of your ass!
We have excellent Data Communications infrastructure in this country why do you think we have huge IT net companies like Google, Facebook and Twitter establishing their European bases here, do you think their data centers are connected over dial up?
The problems in Ireland are the bureaucracy and bullsh*t in bringing the service to ordinary customer, largely impeded by Eircoms monopoly over the years and poor planning.
Jaysus you’re full of $hite
The smell a ya
Everest base camp and Ethiopia both have an internet service running 3g… I can’t attest to the other locations but it wouldnt surprise me. So it’s really not complete bullshizz, unlike your comment.
@Dave King. 3g service is a merely a delivery medium, it does not guarantee x bandwidth at x latency! Even in Ireland 3g connectivity can range from 7Mb/s in Dublin to 50kb/s in Leitrim. Most African cities have 3g (Check out mtn.com) but a 3g network is only as good as the data network that supports it.
We actually have excellent backbone data infrastructure in this country (Check out http://www.e-net.ie/), the problems are allowing the consumer access to the network and at competitive price!
I think you’ll find that you’re the laughing stock with limited comments such as those
@Kieran
Top 85% globally? That doesn’t sound like a very good stat. That means we could be in the bottom 15%.
Luke,
Being in the top 85% means we are in the top 85%.
Being in the bottom 15% means we would be in the bottom 15%.
Please tell me you’re not that dumb. Please.
Why would anyone provide 3g for the top of everest or a mud hut in Africa?
For all the people who who think we’ve a great Internet system you obviously haven’t stepped outside a major town
Clown
Clown!
@ larry you are deluded my poor chap
@Kieran. I imagine you know very little about the internet, Data Networks or very much about anything for that matter. WTF is an ‘Internet System’?
@john f: I know enough that if you’re in a rural area in this country you’re Internet/broadband/mobile network is pretty much non-existent! The geography of our broadband infrastructure is so lob sided that it suits only a certain few! If you can prove that to be incorrect then you’re the first and only person to do so! Fair play to ya!
Have a look at irelandoffline.org and then come back Johnny
Who cares? I have 120 Meg UPC! :D
Call UPC and they will give you a free upgrade to 150mb :)
The sooner the better. All I’m hoping is that 3 IRL’s LTE signal is a lot better indoors than their 3G. Switching to ‘No Service’ or back to GPRS in central Dublin just isn’t good enough.
If HSDPA was rolled out properly with sufficient network bandwidth behind it…. No one would care about 4G.
Apple take the absolute and always believe they’re the cream of the crop, but that’s changing.
It’s hilarious, every time an article about Apple comes out you have all the android trolls coming out from under their bridges trying to justify their hatred for the superior Apple products.
No one cares lads. Go back to your bridge believing your shitty little android phone is better. Ha ha.
hypocritical much?
Trolling? Coming from the man who at the minute who has 7 comments
Each to their own Karol, you like apple as do many others, others like android, some like both. You’re entitled to your opinion, as is everyone else! Live and let live, each to their own. Just because people don’t agree with your opinion doesn’t give you the right to be a troll, or a hypocrite for that matter also.
;) all in good fun lads
Karol care to put up a complete list of the iPhone 5s spec vs the Galaxy S4 spec to back up your argument? Bottom line is that with the rather marginal differences in the handsets it largely comes down to personal preference.
@karl I have both u obviously don’t android is light years ahead of my I phone 4.
@Laura, why not take the time to read your earlier comment Laura? And now you say each to their own.. God I can’t believe I’m allowing myself to get drawn into this, obviously bored
Yawn
@Karol spot on the Andriod trolls are on here in droves samsung love ripping off apple ideas watch the next S5 come out with a 64bit processor again playing catchup to apple!
@mac samsung ripping off Apple? How’s iOS7 working out for you? Looks more than a little like Android ice Cream Sandwich don’t you think? Also Samsung are not catching up to anyone. Any quick search for info will inform you the the tide has turned in favour of Samsung and Android.
Apple without Steve Jobs is a company in freefall. Not a single innovative idea since Jobs passed.
Android, IOS & Windows are all fine systems. Which one is best for you depends on your requirements.
I have used both android & IOS but will be getting the new nokia 1520 whenever it is available.
Richard,
You are comparing a current android phone to an iPhone 4, really? The 4 is nearly 4 years old, compare to the current crop of phones, in benchmarks the 5s is much faster, and as apps are released to make use of the 64bit chip will only get faster.
Actually a spec sheet is a pointless comparison, android is inefficient compared to ios, it needs more ram and a higher clocked cpu to perform even close to ios, this is because it’s apps run in a vm.
bench marks (which samsung has been shown to cheat on) are a measure of performance, in many cases the 5s is twice as fast as the s4.
http://anandtech.com/show/7335/the-iphone-5s-review/5
In fact in many cases the older 5 beats the s4
@smv I’m sorry show me a 64 bit OS and processor in a current gen Andriod phone?oh wait is that the sound of silence? Come back to me when Samsung come from behind Again!
@larry, have I forced my opinion on anybody? Have I slandered apple? Have I slandered android? Like I said each to their own…..it’s no excuse for trolling or karols behaviour. You might be bored and obviously a bit tired because you most certainly did not read my comments. Maybe you should read them again yourself before suggesting I do so. I work in telecoms and provided accurate insight as to why this scenario arose with apple in Ireland. Not speculation, not my opinion, just the facts.
My behavior? Have a day off Laura.
I rarely see a 3G signal! Why run when our providers can’t even walk or even crawl? We pay for premium service and get a sub standard service and that goes across all telecommunications services in Ireland.
I reckon if you are paying for 3G and cannot get the coverage you shouldn’t have to pay the full price.
Only in Internet speeds can you pay the same price as someone who is getting 4 or 5 times the value as you.
It would serve as an incentive to get all the lines upgraded that’s for sure..
I thought only women used iphones
Even the hipsters are switching to Android
Thats it Apple will launch 2 new models soon. Iphone 6 and iphone 6 s :)
And allllllllllll the stupid will line up again …
Jesus but fanboys be they apple or android are boring!!!
I know this one!…. apple wont test until 4g goes live, unlike other manufacturers who test while it’s in development and roll out software updates to support 4g at launch. Even the existing iphone5 is 4g compatible, not just the new 5s and 5c and none of them are LTE (4g) enabled yet. Be curious to see how long it takes them to roll out the 4g to their handsets, might be a nice xmas pressie for all the apple fan boys!! :-)
This is funny, because 4G has been supported at launch in a number of other European countries. Last one I can think of is Bouygues Telecom which launched its 4G network in France at the end of September and got 4G support on the iPhone 5 the same day as long as people had updated to iOS7.
More likely explanation:
- The Irish carriers have been pretty slow at carrying out the tests requested by Apple (which rightly or not would be more demanding than other manufacturers – I am getting information from my brother who did work on these things at Bouygues Telecom)
- Apple is not making too many efforts either as Ireland is a small market with limited competition which is clearly not their top priority
“Ireland is in the top 85% globally with our broadband.. you haven’t clue!”
Does that not mean we’re in the bottom 16%?
Hi boris, your brother is right but its not solely up to the networks, the manufacturer has to develop and test their 4g software before rollout. Most do it when the infrastructure is in development, but you hit the nail on the head. “Little old ireland” syndrome. Apple wouldn’t complete this testing until it went live first to test real time parameters and stability. I work in telecoms also.
Spot on Laura, do you want a job? pm me
Lads, seriously? They are both great phones and it really depends on personal preference. I don’t think anyone commenting under a Journal article about 4G is going to change anyone’s opinion on either phone.
It certainly would I’d imagine, 4G will be a big benefit to many people, if it wasn’t they wouldn’t be spending 100′s of millions rolling it out. And if you want 4G you won’t be buying the new iPhone. But there is plenty of options available for 4g so I’d imagine anyone that wants it just won’t buy an IPhone. Unless extremely brand loyal.
Sry read ur comment wrong, yeh commenting here is just a bit of a firefight for the fanboi’s to pass their Sunday.
The technology is there. why do they not invest in it. Also in Hi fiber Broadband. Many places in Ireland have not got Broadband at all.
Got to love the myrmidons who come on here, immediately re-iterating their love for all things Apple, or samsung…. A nation of narrow-minded walking cliches….
4G…..mere peasants I call thee. LTE +A…… I’m sure Ireland will get it…. In about 10 years
YouWinThePrize.jpg
Did London not just get 4g a few months back ?? R am I mistaken. Anyway im waitn on the blame Enda people to come forth !
Ah ya can’t beat the auld Nokia :)
Good to go on my BlackBerry z10
4G in Ireland – Big marketing slogan and that’s all. Why?
3G is more than anough for anything you would normally do on smartphone or tablet (www, email, using various apps, skype, youtube, etc.) for 99% of people.
However if you really need 4G this most likely means you are transferring extraordinary amounts of data, much more than average person (perhaps HD streaming, uploading large numbers of high res photos on the go, etc.). I can only imagine that could be someone like journalist, photographer, some folk that report on live world events, etc.
But then, there’s catch – largest data bundle on Meteor package is 6GB allowance per month.
Considering your 4G works at rate of 20 Mbit/s (just average assumption) – then if you constantly download / upload some multimedia – your monthly allowance of data will be breached in less than 1 hour. Yes, in less than 60 minutes you could be out of your bundled data plan for full month.
This is real problem, not that Apple is checking something :)
Ok. What about an update of Civil Unions to afford more rights to partners, similar to the rights one would have in a marriage?
I’m not bigoted, a homophobe, or religious but I believe marriage should remain solely for male/female relationships, its a been a cornerstone to our society for thousands of years and I think it should remain that way and I would imagine many people (each with their own view) share my opinion.
Oh lol, wrong thread.. fail fail, damn you hangover! :P
When are phone manufacturers going to produce all their phones with dual sim capability & upgrade the ancient sim cards which only hold just over 200 numbers, drives me bonkers trying to back up all my numbers to the phone because the sim card has a crap memory!
Samsung/HTC are more advanced & have better tech specs, cameras etc- but a fall from 2ft & they break to pieces- apple lower spec but tough & cheaper to repair screens etc (which are less likely to break anyhow), depends what your after- reliability or better tech specs- personal taste! !
I was in Vietnam recently & the cost of unlimited broadband is just about €2.99 per month & Wi Fi is free in all hotels & restaurants. Clever people they are!
Can anybody explain why the internet allowance cap is so small in Ireland? I was looking I to getting an iPhone when I return home from abroad as I’m using one now happily.
With meteor it’s €60 for 6GB of data per month and €50 for 3GB!!
A big chun of that is going to pay for the phone. E-mobile have a sim only plan with unlimited calls texts & data for about €30 a month
No bad, I’ll look into so. And also first about getting my phone unlocked!
3s flexi packages give you 20gb.
Even their €20 per month prepay gives you 15gb.
They have newer unlimited packages for under €40 a month for everything, calls, texts and data.
I found their coverage better in some parts of Wicklow and Gorey than O2.
It’s best, albeit a little patchy around Dublin (and to be fair – I don’t find it any more patchy than I found O2 around Dublin).
Our home broadband is pretty poor as we are some distance from the exchange, so I use my 3G for uploading as the speeds are better (which is probably more an indication of how poor our DSL connection is than anything else!!)
@Giz.. Three give a high data allowance because the performance of their data service is so terrible you’d never be able to consume the 20GB, even if you left it downloading 24/7
Apple is a hoe ….Peruod
Are you on your peruod?
Love my little Nokia ;)
Love my little Nokia
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