LAST UPDATE | 20 May 2020

MCDONALD’S HAS REOPENED six of its restaurants in Dublin, but only as drive-thrus, and it’s caused heavy traffic to build up outside some of them. 

The fast-food outlet plans to open all of its drive-thru services at outlets across the country by the start of June.

The first six outlets reopening in Dublin are at:

• Nutgrove Shopping Centre in Rathfarnham,
• Kylemore Road,
• East Wall Road,
• Artane Castle Shopping Centre,
• Coolock Retail Park, and
• On the Belgard Road in Tallaght.

They will be open from 11am to 10pm from today.

Gardaí attended the scene of a number of outlets today, including Coolock and Kylemore as heavy traffic built up. 

Queue for McDonalds in Kylemore.@rte @Independent_ie @TheEchoOnline pic.twitter.com/RYjDMDVoUU

— Grainne Nolan (@GrainneNolan1) May 20, 2020

A garda spokesperson confirmed units attended at food premises in the capital today.

“Cars have been moved on if they were causing an obstruction to traffic,” the spokesperson said. “There are no issues outstanding at this time.”

It has been eight weeks since the business completely shut down operations because of the Covid-19 pandemic.

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McDonald’s earlier said it is working with local authorities and gardaí and “may determine that it is necessary to close drive-thru lanes if queues cause disruption at busier sites”.

It has also capped the spend per car to €30 and customers have been urged to pay by contactless methods wherever possible.

A number of safety measures have been introduced to ensure staff can comply with social distancing measures:

• Fewer people in the kitchen and service areas, serving a reduced menu over reduced hours;
• The use of contactless thermometers, with temperatures checked on arrival at work
• Perspex screens in key locations in the kitchen and service areas;
• Protective equipment for our people including gloves for customer and courier facing positions and face masks, but not the type needed by healthcare professionals;
• Additional training on cleanliness practices, including increased frequency of handwashing and extra sanitising of touch points around the restaurant.

With reporting from Sean Murray