GARDAÍ HAVE IDENTIFIED a further 24 pubs over a one-week period in potential breach of Covid-19 restrictions.

In total, 105 premises have been identified as breaching the restrictions since Operation Navigation was initiated on 3 July. 

Gardaí said there has been “widespread compliance by licenced premises” to the rules such as the requirement to serve food to customers. 

The majority of the non-compliant cases refer to no evidence of food being served or eaten, and also no receipts to show that food had been sold. 

From next Monday, customers must also leave licenced premises by 11pm. The government decided yesterday not to progress with Phase Four of its reopening plan. 

Pubs that cannot serve food must wait another three weeks for the decision on their reopening to be reviewed, 

Tánaiste Leo Varadkar said yesterday that “customers should be off the premises by 11″. He said restaurants can stay open beyond 11pm for takeaways, deliveries and for staff to clean up.

“What we want to stop is what was kind of happening, this was kind of happening, restaurants were almost operating as pubs,” said Varadkar. 

Between 27 July and 3 August, 24 premises were found to have potentially breached the current measures in place for public health reasons. 

Files will be prepared for the Director of Public Prosecutions in these identified instances.

Deputy commissioner, policing and security, John Twomey, said in a statement: “We are continuing to see high levels of compliance by licenced premises to the Public Health Regulations and this was especially evident across the bank holiday weekend.

“However, there are still a minority of licenced premises that are failing to adhere to the regulations.

“An Garda Síochána is asking that licensed premises and their customers continue to play their part in reducing the spread of Covid-19 and protect the community.”