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LAST UPDATE | 5 Jun 2020
THE CHIEF MEDICAL Officer Tony Holohan has indicated that peanuts and crisps should not be the only food publicans serve to customers in order to reopen in June.
Speaking at tonight’s Covid-19 briefing at the Department of Health, Holohan said:
“A few people getting together for a few pints and a packet of peanuts doesn’t constitute a restaurant.”
His comments come after today’s announcement that pubs that serve food on the premises will be able to reopen on 29 June.
Pubs will not need a restaurant licence in order to open, it has also been confirmed.
All other pubs can reopen on 20 July – three weeks earlier than originally planned.
During his press conference on the easing of the lockdown restrictions in Phase 2, Taoiseach Leo Varadkar said on the 29 June “pubs and bars can operate as if they were restaurants, but they won’t need to have a restaurant license “.
Next week, the government will publish detailed guidance for hotels, bars, restaurants, cafes as to how they should operate.
It was announced today that hotels will also be permitted to open earlier than expected, at the end of this month.
Restaurants and cafes will reopen as planned on 29 June.
For pubs to open on this date, they must operate a table service and adhere to social distancing rules.
The Taoiseach said that people must be sitting, adding it would not be the case of “people sitting at a bar… hanging around and standing as you might like to do”.
“It’ll effectively be that bars can operate as though they are restaurants,” he said.
While questions are raised about what type of food publicans must serve to be allowed open, the Food Safety Authority of Ireland told TheJournal.ie that while it does not deal with licences, it does inspect all food businesses.
“Regarding food safety, all food businesses who are re-opening must continue to operate with their food safety management systems in place, but now they must also operate with new Covid-19 prevention measures as per government advice and ensure that these new measures do not compromise their food safety management systems,” said a spokesperson.
The issue of what kind of food publicans will serve under the new rules was also raised in the Dáil yesterday.
Health Minister Simon Harris was asked by Sinn Féin’s Louise O’Reilly if Ireland would revert back to the late 1980s and early 1990s when someone could order a “bag of chips or a plate of manky curry for the venue to be able to continue to serve alcohol”.
The comment resulted in some quips from TDs about the minister’s age, with some saying he would not remember the 80s.
“I do not think we ever did that in Greystones at any stage. We will have to ask deputy [Stephen] Donnelly as he is a little bit older than me… I will come back to the deputy on the curry and mushy peas,” replied Harris.
Publican representative groups have welcomed the announcement today that pubs who serve food can reopen at the same time as the rest of the hospitality sector.
The Vintners Federation of Ireland (VFI) and the Licensed Vintners Association (LVA) said this will come as a “major relief” to the pub sector across the country.
Both organisations also welcomed the commitment made by the Chief Medical Officer, Dr Tony Holohan that the National Public Health Emergency Team will develop guidance for the hospitality sector in the coming days and that a review of the two metre social distancing requirement is being undertaken.
“This is a welcome shot in the arm for publicans who will have been closed for more than four months by the time they reopen on 20 July. Pubs were the first sector to close on 15 March, a decision our members supported for the good of public health,” said Padraig Cribben, VFI Chief Executive, said:
He said the earlier opening in July for all pubs will allow businesses to tap into some of the summer season, though Cribben said there are still concerns about the impact of social distancing rules of 2 metres.
Donall O’Keeffe, LVA Chief Executive, said his group had been consistent in advocating for pubs to receive the same treatment as other hospitality businesses that serve food and drink.
He said the World Health Organisation (WHO) social distancing guidance of one metre would make a “substantial difference” to business viability, adding that he hoped it would be reduced in the weeks ahead.
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You can be sure as night follows day that if the EPA found a individual or a small business discharging waste water like this there would be hell to pay. Different story when it’s the local authority.
I found a huge discharge by the Liffey at Castletown estate in Celbridge about 5 years ago.
A manhole had blown after some very strong rain and ditched tons of sewage into the river, the riverbank was strewn with turds, tampons and condoms. I rang the council to report/complain was asked “Sure what did I expect? it had to go somewhere!!!”.
This happened about 2km UPSTREAM of the extraction point for most of the Dublin regions drinking water….enjoy.
Great point except the EPA don’t regulate small businesses, that’s the councils job. The EPA regulates larger businesses (like Pfizer, Indaver, municipal landfills and Irish Water). The councils are responsible for shops, garages, take-aways etc.
Have no fear Uisce Éireann is here
Oh no!
That’s the other half of their job and equally important.
Shite doesn’t magically vanish into thin air when you flush yer jacks.
County Galway finds arts-festivals (and other such trivia) much more important than clean water.
Who cares about the filthy sewage-polluted beach when you can listen to a poetry reading.
There is always one philistine!
The headline is quite misleading. The area is Galway that failed are Athenry, Ballygar, Gort, Mountbellew, Moylough, and Oughterard. Whereas the area is dublin that failed are Mallahide and the Greater Dublin Area.
The Greater Dublin Area probably produces more raw sewage than the entire County of Galway, never mind the small areas that have failed testing.
The problem is Galway is not so much as lack of investment as the widely dispersed population coupled with major opposition any time there new treatment plants proposed.
Pretty much every county with a river or coastline checked is non complaint. Those at the top have the largest coastline, lakes and rivers
What a lazy fcuking report from these public servants
But the only way people get off their asses to do anything about our environment and local ecosystems is if attention is drawn to it… Even then they’ll only MAYBE do something
As a ex avid River Kayaker, this report does not surprise me.It scares me when we kayak past a ‘rural sewerage treatment centers’. We have seen a clear liquid (quite toxic smell like bleach) pour into rivers and turning the water white, pasted by floaters, nappies, rubbers and others in the river and the Seas.
Blame cannot be put purely on coco’s but on the individuals that do not care about the environment who pour domestic waste (not poo) down the loo. Chemical bleach should be banned and replaced with eco friendly products, which there are many of. Flushing problems down the loo does not solve anything, it just pass’s the shite on.
Just on the outskirts of Waterford area called Kings Channel which is a Salt Marsh and NHA “Natural Heritage Areas” has a waste water outflow from the local treatment plant. At low tide and on a nice day you can smell the sweet smell of sh*te coming off the river and can even be smelt as far as Viewmount on the right conditions.
John Tierney has his hard hat and wellies on, Says he`ll take care of the first 10 on the list personally, if the other lads can get the rest taken care of, that`ll be grand…
We would have been well on the way to fixing these issues if FG when first elected didn’t slash the councils budget for water and waste treatment to below life support levels. FG actively ran down the system in preparation to sell the idea of IW. Do FG care more about the environment or more about fitting water meters.
Water meters are a present for he who must not be named.
In return, a certain newspaper, which cannot be named, will pursue an editorial policy during the next GE strongly favourable to the restoration of FG to power. That’s how this country works.
Tin foil sales are a booming.
Yes…FG sell a lot of Tin Foil hats……just stop buying them MK, they make you look silly.
Al ca, that’s a joke, those places are like that because of decades of under investment.
That’s the point. decades of under investment until the banker tax came along. FG/FF never gave a hoot before about the environment….unless they could make a quango out of it and stuff it with the party faithful.
Al, I’m loving the “so is your face” defence you’re propagating these days.
Clever stuff.
Absolutely no need for investment in the water infrastructure. This is all propaganda to get Entitlement Ireland to pay their water charge…….hmmmmmm
And tell me, Exactly how is wasting money on installing defunct water meters that won`t be used,helping to stop the flow of sewage from their own facilities, in some cases inadequate maintenance and operation of plant and equipment is the root cause, and One fifth of all pollution incidents at sewage plants could be prevented by better management and operation of treatment plants.
How does a meter on a pipe in say,Dublin affect that??
Hurry up MK76, I`m holding my breath waiting on a reply
Hi Mother. You do get the reason why the meters aren’t being used, right? Because “the people” (aka Entitlement Ireland) screamed blue murder about paying their way and the gov’t foolishly caved in.
The irony is, there would be more money to tackle these issues, had meters been used, but hey, never underestimate the stupidity of an angry mob and weak politicians.
Maybe Mother you can explain how these issues will be sorted out if people don’t pay their water charges, or do you subscribe to the fantastical economics of the LLA?
the monies wasted on the setting up of this monstrous quango, the monies wasted on the meters, the monies diverted from road tax, the monies stolen from the pension funds, the monies wasted on 30+ managers on circa 120,000 per annum with company cars @ 25,000, the monies wasted on advertising in TV, Newspaper and radio media,the monies wastes on “Consultants”, would go a long way towards fixing the problems……….I could go on, but i think you get the message….
Also if it wasn`t for the water protesters fighting this quango, you wouldalready be paying through the nose for something we already pay for, no need to thank us for that one BTW, You are welcome
FYI The LLA, didn`t bankrupt this country and destroy the social fabric of our society, that was your crowd, get a grip, change the record, and blame the people who are actually responsible.
ye Eejit
It’s the LLA who can’t get a grip of reality or anything to do with economics (e.g. nationalising Dell!!!!!) Mother. But sure continue to stick your head in the sand.
Re your list of “ifs” above, you do realise that all staff of IW were already on the gov’t books, right and would still be even IF (there’s another one) IW was never set up.
And please explain to me where the additional €5bn required to upgrade (rather than just maintain) will come from? Always interested in getting the LLA’s opinions on facts, especially numerical ones.
P.S When you say “paying through the nose” you mean paying your way, right?
What a horrible concept. The other guy should have to pay, not me.
“you do realise that all staff of IW were already on the gov’t books, right”
Ah, I see i am going to have fun with you today MK, cool so, here we go, I hope you can keep up….
Courtesy of RTE news : Some Irish Water workers paid more than they sought
RTÉ News has learned that 53 Irish Water employees have received salaries higher than they said they wanted when first applying for the jobs.
Applicants for jobs at Irish Water are generally told of the salary range for the relevant post.
Candidates applying for a job went through what the company calls a pre-screening interview, at which many were asked about their salary expectations.
————————————————————————————————————
ESRI professor says unnecessary staff could cost Irish Water €2bn (RTE news)
Prof FitzGerald was commenting on reports that Irish Water could employ over 4,000 local authority staff until 2025 as part of the arrangement to transfer services to the company.
However, it has been reported that Irish Water representatives believe they actually need fewer than 2,000 staff.
That sure seems like people that weren`t on the books originally to me MK,
you can start there if you want MK, let me know if you want anything else to read pal
600 workers at Irish Water to get average salary hike of €1,500 before the year ends
IRISH Water was today branded an out of control “super quango” after pay rises totalling almost €4m were awarded to 600 workers.
Staff at the controversial utility are to receive annual hikes averaging €1,500 each after a bonus payment scheme was suspended by the company late last year. ( The Herald )
Do me a favour MK – Can you find out for me how many gougers from the north are being paid to come down and fit water meters here in the south? Ask the lads in he FG head office if they can find out,
Cheers in advance,
yours,
Mother
Ha. Nice side step of your idiotic comment about IW employees Mother. And imagine 53…..yes, read it again folks, 53 employees got €1,500 more than they “asked” for. Earth shattering stuff.
And I find it hilarious that the LLA are giving out about workers payments. Aren’t you supposed to celebrate when the common man gets a little extra, or only when you get it too? Perhaps you should ask Brendan Ogle why he no bemoans the benefits that he fought so vehemently for in Irish Rail and ESB.
The LLA really does hypocrisy better than anyone else.
Córas Uisce Náisiúnta Tacaíocht.
There you are, – a nice little acronym ‘as Gailge’ for IW.
Rather appropriate, considering the greedy ‘see you next Thursday’ that wants to eventually own it.
Irish Water is a cess pit.
I think you’ll find the water system, in this particular case, is the cess pit.
But sure the LLA will sprinkle some of their magic makeyuppie dust over the issue and all will be resolved.
Cess put is a water system really
Crap report really!
To see Cork Harbour at 8am on a calm bright sunny Winters day, when the water, like glass reflects the sunlight beautifull. All is well until you look closely at the water and you notice streams of pollution meandering from all the urban outfalls, the floating proportion of the waste accumulating into large clumps and getting stranded in coves and beaches. Anyone who frequamts the Cork – Cobh train should keep an eye out, as you leave Fota station heading towards Cobh look left, where the tracks meet the beach, there is usually a gathering there of the floating constituents of corks waste.
Cork harbour has come along way since the 80′s and 90′s now that the city has a sewage treatment plant. Still the lower harbour needs a plant too, but I hear they are building 3 new ones for the harbour. I expect things to get better.
The EPA have been handed the sampling and testing of all our rivers and lakes by the Irish Water/FG.
This is done by the local councils perfectly well up to now but has been handed over to the EPA as of 1st Jan 2016.
The EPA will centralise the testing centre into one centre.
The tender for this centre was won by a joint bid from Tipperary/Kilkenny County Councils or should I say Kelly/Hogan constituencies.
The EPA will test our drinking water less often.
All samples will have to couriered to the EPA in their new shiny lab in Tipperary/ Kilkenny.
All other sampling/testing done by local councils is also been centralised.
Where we now have labs and testing in every county this will be reduce to just 3.
These 3 super lab will have to purpose built.
All samples will have to be couriered to these 3 new labs
All the qualified staff in these labs doing a great up till now will been redundant.
No surprise that the EPA statement this morning was so quickly followed by an announcement of the huge ball of money IW will be throwing at the problem.
I am sure this will work out just fine.
Obviously haven’t visited the river Brosna in Mullingar where grass grows ON TOP of the water…
This report came out last year as well. The EPA should fine the councils for pollution. Loacal village here has 300+ residents but no treatment plant. 3 pipes let sewage into a tidal estuary. One of these is about 30m from the primary school. A treatment plant was envisaged 15 yrs ago to handle 2 villages but we’re still waiting. Meanwhile a local business must jump through hoops with EPA to operate.
If the EPA fines the councils for not having built sewage plants, then it still doesn’t solve the problem that a sewage treatment plant hasn’t been built. Better the councils use the € to build the plant rather than paying court fines? It’s all tax payers money anyway. The EPA fining the council would just be moving it from one government body to another…
Nothing to do with the counties, more to do with unscrupulous residents
where there is sewerage polluting our waters you can bet there’s boomtown rats upstream so don’t take it out on the ordinary 4 legged brown rat
How many towns have their water intake pipe close to their sewage pipe in the same river???
And the wildlife of the same river becoming sterile as an episode of EcoEye showed where many chemicals in waste water like medicines in urine and poo end up in drinking water with antibiotics, antibacterials and other chemicals that effect sterility and can cause cancers…
have your say