Reopening date
Representatives from the hospitality sector are calling on the Government to give a clear reopening date for indoor dining, with a meeting scheduled to take place today.
The Government's decision to delay the reopening and limit indoor dining to people who have been fully vaccinated or have recently recovered from the virus has been widely criticised, with industry representative's saying the move will put more jobs at risk.
The Restaurants Association of Ireland (RAI) chief executive Adrian Cummins called the measures discriminatory and not workable, while the groups president Mark McGowan said businesses will likely reopen as a "survival mechanism" despite the restrictions.
Speaking in the Dáil today, Taoiseach Micheál Martin defended the measures, saying they were taken to protect against the threat of the Delta variant.
Covid projections
A senior member of the National Public Health Emergency Team (Nphet) has outlined the group's “reasons of concern” over the Delta variant of Covid-19.
Medical virologist Dr Cillian De Gascun did not directly reference controversy over the decision to delay the reopening of indoor hospitality but posted a lengthy Twitter thread on the dangers posed by the variant.
Dr De Gascun stated the impact the variant could have on transmissibility, infection severity, and vaccine effectiveness, adding Delta is likely to become the dominant strain in the State by mid-July.
In a letter to the Minister for Health ahead of the Cabinet's decision earlier this week, chief medical officer Dr Tony Holohan said Nphet's modelling suggested over 680,000 cases and over 2,000 deaths could be recorded in the State between July 1st-September 30th under their 'pessimistic' scenario.
Pandemic Unemployment Payment
The registration for the Pandemic Unemployment Payment will remain open until Wednesday, July 7th.
The registration had been due to close today, however the date was pushed back following the Government's decision to delay the reopening of indoor hospitality.
Businesses which will remain closed or heavily restricted due to the delay will also be able to claim additional support under the Covid Restrictions Support Scheme (CRSS).
The additional supports will be available for two weeks from July 5th.
Limerick car crash
A man in his 60s has died following a single-vehicle road crash in Co Limerick.
Gardaí attended the scene on the Murroe Road, Annacotty shortly after 2.30pm, where the man was pronounced dead.
The road remains closed while a forensic examination is carried out, with local diversions in place.
