Pubs and restaurants will be given as little as three days’ notice as to whether or not they can finally press ahead with reopening on July 5th.
As the Irish Examiner reports, with staff already being hired, supplies ordered, and premises prepared, the businesses must wait until public health experts and the Government decide whether the risk from the Delta variant is such that the July 5th date must be put back.
Publicans and restaurateurs want that decision to be made this week, but Government sources say it will be the middle of next week at the earliest before they will be told.
As it stands, it is likely that the National Public Health Emergency Team (Nphet) will meet next Thursday, with an announcement by the Government on Friday.
Sources say that while the Government is sympathetic to the need for clarity, the latest data will be needed, along with Nphet modelling.
Yesterday, a further 348 new cases of Covid-19 were reported.
It is understood that top civil servants were briefed yesterday that it will be next week before the impact of the more transmissible variant is known.
Indoor dining
Tánaiste Leo Varadkar said that, as things stand, the plan is still to ease restrictions on July 5th, which will see a return to indoor dining and drinking, allow 50 people to attend a wedding, and permit four households to gather indoors.
However, he also said that, as with all other recent announcements, a final call can only be made closer to the time.
“There is a train of thought to stay closed for an extra couple of weeks to be safe, but the impact of that would be huge,” said one Government source.
Donall O’Keeffe, head of the Licensed Vintners Association, said the Government has to come to a decision this week.
“They can’t reasonably expect the entire hospitality industry to wait until next Friday for what their decision will be and then be in a position to potentially reopen three days later,” he said.
“This is not practical, and it is not how these businesses operate.
They said they need to make decisions in relation to hiring staff, ordering stock and supplies, getting their premises ready to open. “If all of that is to proceed they need to have sufficient notice," he added.
