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Explainer: How will pubs and restaurants work when they reopen on 29 June?

Pubs and restaurants serving food are expected to reopen in Phase Three

WHEN PUBS AND restaurants reopen on 29 June, they’re going to look completely different from how they did just 3 months ago.

What exactly is changing though? How will Covid-19 restrictions impact the experience of punters until bars and pubs that don’t serve food are finally opened on 20 July?

New guidelines from Fáilte Ireland released last night give details on how pubs are going to work.

Physical Distancing

Similar to how supermarkets and other businesses have worked, all pubs and restaurants must enforce physical distancing.

The two-metre rule will be made more flexible and can be reduced to one-metre for both tables and customers if specific requirements are met. 

Physical distancing isn’t required for members of the same household, but one-metre distancing is necessary if there are people at the same table from another household.

Tables and booths inside the premises should be rearranged to fit the new regulations and must be a minimum of one-metre apart. 

These new requirements include regulating entry to encourage pre-booking, rather than turning up on the evening.

Extra signage should be placed throughout the venue, with both floor markings and wall signs. Plexiglass screens should be placed at both counters and tills to protect workers and customers.

The guidelines request that additional hygiene facilities are created if possible, like pop up handwashing or sanitizing stations. 

Frequent cleaning of toilet facilities and often touched surfaces is also required by the regulations.

Speaking on Today with Sarah McInerney, Fáilte Ireland’s Registrar and Accommodation Development manager Tara Kerry explained that social distancing will be slightly different with walk-ins from the street.

While pre-booking will allow you to be seated a minimum of one-metre away from someone outside your household, if you walk-in you must be seated two-metres apart.

“If you walk in off the street, you will have to be two metres apart from the person you are actually with unless you’re part of the same family unit,” said Kerry.

Where table service is unavailable, physical distancing will be encouraged and plexiglass screens will be in place between the customer and server or bartender. 

105 minutes

In the three weeks between Phases Three and Four, customers will only be able to spend a maximum of 105 minutes at any one premises. 

They must be served a “substantial meal” costing at least €9.

An additional 15 minutes will also be allocated where people can leave, the tables can be sufficiently sanitized by staff and new customers can enter without mixing.

When all pubs return on 20 July however, this 105-minute timeframe will be removed, according to Fáilte Ireland. 

Speaking this evening however, chief medical officer Dr. Tony Holohan said this guidance for the opening of pubs in Phase 4 has not yet been fixed.

“We don’t see pubs being in the same phase as restaurants. I’ve said it here before and I’ll say it again, we know the difference between a pub and restaurant. I think everybody in this country knows the difference in the pub and restaurant,” Holohan said. 

“We haven’t said any guidance at the moment in relation to what will apply in relation to pubs at some future point.

The kind of activity that would ordinarily happen in a pub environment is among unfortunately the most risky in terms of transmission of virus. We’ve been clear about that, and that’s the reason why we would have always held pubs operating in the way pubs would operate for the very final phases of our guidance, but what advice and guidance we have in place then in support of the operation of those pubs is still work we have to do and set out to government. So I wouldn’t be pre-empting that at this point.

Physical distancing

On 29 June however, front of house staff will be managing physical distancing and ensuring that customers aren’t gathering in groups inside the premises.

One substantial change is that for every group, one member must provide their name and contact details to the business. They should also keep a record of who was in the group, in case it’s needed for future contact tracing. 

All details will be kept secure by businesses for one month before they can be deleted.

According to the guidelines, all customers will be asked to remain seated unless they are going to the toilet, paying for their meal or leaving the premises.

It’s recommended that separate entrances and exits are used, to stop close contact as much as possible. 

Face Coverings

While the government has recommended the use of facemasks by workers returning to work, they are not mandatory.

On Today SMI, Kerry said that it will be up to the businesses themselves whether or not workers will wear facemasks.

“If in the event a bar area was just too small for any form of social distancing, there may be a requirement at that stage for facemasks. It again will be down to each individual business.”

The guidelines do say that employers and workers should keep an eye on the public health guidelines in relation to masks – and if they do wear them, they should not be shared between employees.

- With reporting by Rónán Duffy

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    Mute Dave.
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    Apr 1st 2022, 12:33 PM

    Imagine a private company has to call the DAA to account. This government couldn’t careless about the Irish public, shown time and time again.

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    Mute Dave Connolly
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    Apr 1st 2022, 1:09 PM

    @Dave.: not to worry. Mary will sort it all out. With her magic bag of money.

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    Mute David Corrigan
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    Apr 1st 2022, 1:25 PM

    @Dave Connolly: FG/FF and the Greens have access to the magic bag of money and STILL can’t run the country correctly. Mad isn’t it!?

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    Mute Declan Doherty
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    Apr 1st 2022, 4:02 PM

    @Dave Connolly: Even the most ardent anti SF posters have been slow to use the magic money tree argument recently for reasons that should be obvious to most. Do you need it spelled out for you why ?

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    Mute Franny Ando
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    Apr 1st 2022, 6:27 PM

    @Dave Connolly: Path-etic. Is it beyond you to even attempt an intelligent response.

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    Mute Dave
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    Apr 1st 2022, 10:29 PM

    @Dave Connolly: Its the same magic money that the current government are using Dave, but you simply do not get it…Or refuse to do so..

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    Mute Paul Hedderman
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    Apr 2nd 2022, 9:17 AM

    @Dave.: Imagine thinking that the govt knows anything about the day to day running of the DAA!!! What has the govt got to do with it in reality? Its a semi state company but do you really think MM or LV have any input into it bar if theres a major crisis? Even at that its that lemming eamon ryans dept. Shows how little you know and just want to govt bash. Covid causes staff shortages. Unless youre going to staff at 200% normal levels you’re going to run into trouble when theres a covid surge…… Blame the govt for likes though. Fair play!

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    Mute PositiveMe
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    Apr 1st 2022, 1:19 PM

    Did an extra 30% of passengers just turn up unannounced. Surely they have info on how many tickets are sold everyday.

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    Mute Derek Power
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    Apr 1st 2022, 1:50 PM

    @PositiveMe: nah they’d have no way of knowing this. Like when they don’t have more than two booths open to check passports in arrivals. Get caught totally unaware when the plane lands, no way of knowing.

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    Mute Aidocasey
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    Apr 2nd 2022, 4:22 PM

    @PositiveMe: yes they do know….they can’t get staff…

    4
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    Mute Peter Gilgunn
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    Apr 1st 2022, 12:25 PM

    Aldi/lidl paying more money to their workers than what dap pay

    441
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    Mute John Fagan
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    Apr 1st 2022, 7:45 PM

    @Peter Gilgunn: Any terrorist who wants to blow up a plane will look at Dublin and say this is the easiest entry point because it is run like a circus.

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    Mute John Johnes
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    Apr 1st 2022, 7:54 PM

    @John Fagan: to be honest a circus is being run better than dublin airport.

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    Mute Dave
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    Apr 1st 2022, 10:29 PM

    @Peter Gilgunn: What has Aldi and Lidl pay got to do with it?

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    Mute Frankie Cappuccino
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    Apr 1st 2022, 12:27 PM

    12 euro an hour starting wage, if only there was a solution

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    Mute Liam Edward Harris
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    Apr 1st 2022, 12:42 PM

    @Frankie Cappuccino: €12? Jesus christ. So these days, what work exactly does give you the right to a decent standard of living?

    101
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    Mute David Corrigan
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    Apr 1st 2022, 1:27 PM

    @Liam Edward Harris: Running the calculations, I reckon one would need to be taking home €800 per week in this country Liam.

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    Mute Laura Walsh
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    Apr 1st 2022, 3:10 PM

    @Frankie Cappuccino: yep, and the hospitality industry too whinging about no staff. Is it any surprise? Who can afford to live in Dublin on those wages?

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    Mute Michael Keegan
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    Apr 1st 2022, 8:01 PM

    @Frankie Cappuccino: 20 hour week guaranteed, then they are surprised they can’t attract staff

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    Mute Malachi Shanks
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    Apr 1st 2022, 10:17 PM

    @Frankie Cappuccino: it’s €14.14 starting actually, if they opened an expression of interest to staff that left a year and a half ago they might be surprised by the uptake, just saying….

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    Mute Dave Byrne
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    Apr 1st 2022, 10:23 PM

    @Malachi Shanks: Staff that left what about the 1100 let go?

    12
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    Mute Malachi Shanks
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    Apr 1st 2022, 10:25 PM

    @Dave Byrne: they took voluntary redundancies not let go

    10
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    Mute Dave Byrne
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    Apr 1st 2022, 10:51 PM

    @Malachi Shanks: And bring them back on less pay plus T&C

    6
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    Mute Stephen Gill
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    Apr 1st 2022, 2:25 PM

    Dalton Phillips should be sacked, not making excuses. This is the result of management sitting on its hands.

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    Mute Derek Moean
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    Apr 1st 2022, 2:29 PM

    @Stephen Gill: he was brought in to sack everyone.

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    Mute CSR
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    Apr 1st 2022, 12:22 PM

    Maybe they should draft in defense forces to help out temporarily? Cant continue like this.

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    Mute Paul Clancy
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    Apr 1st 2022, 1:07 PM

    @Stephen Murphy: usually it’s a good idea to research a comment before posting. Also comparing refugees fleeing a war zone with nothing to their names to having to queue a bit longer is a bit silly.

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    Mute John Mc Auley
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    Apr 2nd 2022, 3:30 PM

    @CSR: “Defence forces” are for DEFENCE. And are equally underpaid and undermined.
    Let’s change our attitude and our
    GOVERNMENT……

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    Mute Richard Seager
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    Apr 1st 2022, 12:29 PM

    See Dublin Airport app has stopped showing waiting times at security

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    Mute Wade Wilson
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    Apr 1st 2022, 3:13 PM

    DAAis a semi state company. That means they are part owned by the state and part owned by investors. When they do well, the investors make profits. When they do bad tax payers have to pay for it. Same setup with the banks. They get to keep their profits while tax payers cover any losses. FFG policies in action.

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    Mute Andy O'B
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    Apr 1st 2022, 9:46 PM

    @Wade Wilson: that’s not actually what a semi state is…a semi state is one wholly owned by the government but run as a commercial entity, ie they receive no money from the state. So the government do not pay a penny to run the airport. The airport stands on it’s own two feet…and not very well so far this year unfortunately

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    Mute James Seamus Jackman
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    Apr 1st 2022, 3:18 PM

    Being stuck in a cue last weekend for 2 hours was terrible . It can’t be rocket science to improve the situation. DAA management should genuinely look at their pay and take a 50% cut…it was a horrible situation to be in.

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    Mute Mike Hogan
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    Apr 1st 2022, 1:13 PM

    Maybe most some more flights out to Cork and Shannon. Take away some of the bottleneck.

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    Mute Tony Stanley
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    Apr 1st 2022, 2:24 PM

    @Mike Hogan: People don’t want to fly out of cork or Shannon, if they did the airlines would provide more flights. Sadly as has happened time and time again, the local communities of both fail to support their airport when new routes are launched and then get all bitter when the routes are pulled.

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    Mute John Mc Avinue
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    Apr 1st 2022, 2:33 PM

    @Tony Stanley: I live 20 minutes from Shannon and love flying out of there. Easy and stress free. The choice of flights is extremely limited tho

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    Mute Tony Doyle
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    Apr 1st 2022, 2:37 PM

    @Mike Hogan: any self respecting swan or goose wouldn’t land in Cork

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    Mute Pat Casey
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    Apr 1st 2022, 2:49 PM

    @Tony Stanley: Total BS

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    Mute Sean Walsh
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    Apr 1st 2022, 8:52 PM

    @Tony Doyle: 55 minutes from Cork to Heathrow, from where you can fly to anywhere in the world, why would anyone outside the pale want to go through that cesspit that is Dublin Airport?

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    Mute Caroline Otoole
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    Apr 1st 2022, 11:27 PM

    @Mike Hogan: I’m in Waterford and always choose Shannon or Cork, parking is 1/2 the Dublin price.

    19
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    Mute Glen Marsden
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    Apr 1st 2022, 1:41 PM

    Why are the majority of daily departures scheduled between 6 and 9am? Place is dead for the rest of the day once the morning rush is gone.
    Last week while in the queue I counted 46 flights on the board due to take off before 8am.

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    Mute Thomas Harrington
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    Apr 1st 2022, 1:55 PM

    @Glen Marsden: because people are travelling for work?

    67
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    Mute Tony Doyle
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    Apr 1st 2022, 2:42 PM

    @Glen Marsden: it’s called RUSH HOUR in most places

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    Mute Glen Marsden
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    Apr 1st 2022, 5:10 PM

    @Thomas Harrington: I get that people are travelling for work but why do they lump all the Balearic type flights in at the same time. There are flights landing in these places at 10am and they can’t check into accommodation until 3pm.
    Should these not be midday flights?

    29
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    Mute June Kennedy
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    Apr 1st 2022, 5:22 PM

    @Glen Marsden: need to return with passengers within flying time frame and not have layovers

    13
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    Mute Paul Keenan
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    Apr 1st 2022, 8:06 PM

    @Glen Marsden: they do more than 1 flight a day, typically 4, a mid haul return ie spain and back and a short haul uk and back

    10
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    Mute Andy O'B
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    Apr 1st 2022, 9:48 PM

    @Glen Marsden: it’s all about using the aircraft as much as they can. Maximise their return on investment. So leave surely and return late. Those aircraft that stay overnight all leave around the same time each morning. This has nothing to do with the airport. It’s driven by airlines.

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    Mute 2thFairy
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    Apr 2nd 2022, 8:38 AM

    @Glen Marsden: because that’s also when flights are cheaper. Airlines are the ones wholly responsible for busy times as their cheaper fares are at the same time.

    3
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    Mute Brendan Shanahan
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    Apr 1st 2022, 8:51 PM

    DAA are the people who want to charge motorists for entering our airport. Dublin airport was built with our money! Hard necks are alive and well.

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    Mute Andy O'B
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    Apr 1st 2022, 9:49 PM

    @Brendan Shanahan: it wasn’t built with your money. Read about how Dublin airport is funded.

    12
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    Mute Fiona Skelly
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    Apr 1st 2022, 6:24 PM

    It might help if they weren’t doing additional checks on every 3rd bag and asking people to remove their shoes

    44
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    Mute Pat Costello
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    Apr 1st 2022, 9:02 PM

    DAA have a notice on their website advising “Connecting Ireland to the World”. This needs to be changed immediately to “Disconnecting Ireland from the World”.

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    Mute Ciarán Ó Dubhda
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    Apr 1st 2022, 3:27 PM

    One hour to get through security this morning at Dublin Airport, One hour to get through passport control and covid clearance at Palma Airport, long day but feck it, everyone’s trying their best.

    33
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    Mute Vin
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    Apr 1st 2022, 8:13 PM

    Anyone in the West of Ireland.
    Relax and fly from Shannon.

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    Mute Juniper
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    Apr 1st 2022, 2:59 PM

    Perhaps this is an oversimplification… Are DAA not just effectively holding Ryanair to ransom because they pushed the airport fees down?

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    Mute Jonathan
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    Apr 1st 2022, 9:44 PM

    Use Shannon instead

    19
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    Mute Csilla
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    Apr 1st 2022, 3:48 PM

    To Ryanair, i have a solution: Schedule less flights

    15
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    Mute Ken Bramley
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    Apr 1st 2022, 11:20 PM

    Use terminal 2 ffs ? Somehow there is no issue there ? Aer lingus being prioritised maybe ?

    13
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    Mute Pat Costello
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    Apr 1st 2022, 9:00 PM

    Dublin Airport have a notice on their website advising “Connecting Ireland to the World.” This needs to be changed immediately to “Disconnecting Ireland from the World”.

    12
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    Mute Frank Leonard
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    Apr 2nd 2022, 6:51 AM

    Surly if x amount of planes are flying out of Dublin they can calculate the number of people that might be on them or is that too complicated

    11
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    Mute Mary Fallon
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    Apr 1st 2022, 11:36 PM

    3 hour delay on Manchester – Dublin flight today due to shortage of baggage handlers in Manchester airport.

    10
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    Mute James Croke
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    Apr 1st 2022, 10:14 PM

    Does anyone know the waiting times in similar sized airports around Europe?
    Are these airports having the same issues?

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    Mute Dave Byrne
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    Apr 1st 2022, 10:55 PM

    The fact that the hourly rate is so low and I believe it is a flat rate regardless if you work nights days early shifts or weekends, On a 20hr contract.
    After 911 happened the commission set up to find the faults in how security was breached was that the staff was on crap wages T&C and mostly private security contracts.

    12
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    Mute Irish big fellow
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    Apr 2nd 2022, 12:33 PM

    It was operating efficiently. However the airport is now showing signs of serious reglect. Toilets are dirty, layout of T1 is out of date and not fit for purpose and the security check is a poor reflection of the airport in general. The State invested over€1 billion to upgrade it but passengers are only experiencing grief when they pass through.

    5
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    Mute Theportobello
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    Apr 2nd 2022, 1:19 PM

    Imagine flying from Dublin to Manchester right now. Exactly the same problem – sacked staff, no nobody wants to work for those wages https://twitter.com/bbcnews/status/1509951337458544643?s=21&t=AKMRkoYFPwfmx0GprNTEuQ

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    Mute Caroline Otoole
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    Apr 1st 2022, 11:21 PM

    What did Cork do differently to avoid this issue?

    4
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    Mute Keith Manning
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    Apr 2nd 2022, 7:28 AM

    Could airports revisit the security rules? Is there a need to remove electronics, liquid limits etc from the bag. I am a frequent flyer and normally need 3 trays to get my stuff sorted.

    A quicker win maybe, promote a be prepared campaign. Have your stuff ready prior to security, belts off liquids and electronics ready etc. The amount of people stressed to the gills, skipping queues then when they get to security, they empty their suitcase to find their perfume.

    I don’t fly aer lingus as they are shite, so I am not sure what terminal 2 is like, but if there is an overload between 1 and 2 could they balance the security and ask those not in such a rush to use terminal 2.

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    Mute Tafe Dani
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    Apr 2nd 2022, 9:11 AM

    Last Saturday morning I got through Dublin Airport security in T1 in 20 minutes. It was busy but efficient, and I travel a lot. So I’m finding all these reports a bit baffling.

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