Research showing alarming levels of low life-satisfaction among the public played a role in the Government’s decision to reopen the country for Christmas.
Taoiseach Micheál Martin has admitted there are risks involved in lifting many of the pandemic restrictions for the festive period.
But he said that had to be balanced with people’s wellbeing, with Central Statistics Office (CSO) data showing worrying levels of unhappiness among the public.
This cannot and will not be the kind of Christmas we are used to but it will be a very special time when we will all be able to enjoy some respite from the hardships of 2020 https://t.co/aYuDehyZMb
— Micheál Martin (@MichealMartinTD) November 27, 2020
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“There are risks attached to this” Mr Martin said, as he urged the public to remain vigilant during the festive period.
He added: “We received advice from the Central Statistics Office in terms of their surveys about a high level of low overall life satisfaction.
“As far back as last April, coming out of the first wave, there was about 29.5 per cent of people with a low level of life satisfaction as a result of the pandemic.
“There’s new figures coming out next Monday which will be higher than that. At that time it was about 5.5 per cent in addition to the 29.5 per cent, who were downhearted on a consistent basis. These are balances we have to address.
“If you look at it the other way around, could we really sustain a closure of restaurants and other areas for another eight weeks, and the impacts on people’s wellbeing and sense of needing to get out and meet with some friends?
“This is a balancing act. We will keep an eye on this obviously, and we will be working with Nphet and others to make sure that this is kept under constant review.”
While bans on retail, restaurants, gastropubs and household visits will all open at varying stages throughout December, wet pubs are set to remain shut.
Extra supports have been introduced to help the sector, which has remained closed for the majority of the pandemic.
The Taoiseach has said the decision not to reopen wet pubs was based on data showing they can lead to a spike in infections.
Mr Martin said he believes that reopening the sector would lead to a higher number of cases, at a much faster rate.
He said: “Some of the data compiled by EY, if you look at the local electoral areas, towards the end of September you’ll see 10 days after the reopening of wet pubs the numbers going up very significantly.
“The data is very clear. Cities like Cork and Galway went up very significantly, areas in Cavan and Meath. So unfortunately there is a difference, the discipline of sitting down for a meal, that does create a different type of environment to the pub environment.
“We’re not as low now in terms of numbers as we would have been during the summer. So there is risk attached to opening up part of society and the economy.
“We’ve got to mitigate that risk as far as we can. It’s my genuine view that if we had decided to open up wet pubs, we would be looking at far higher numbers, far faster.”
