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THE MINISTER FOR Health Simon Harris has said the government will be working on more detailed guidance about weddings over the next few weeks, but said it it “highly unlikely” 100 people would be allowed at a wedding by July.
According to the government roadmap out of lockdown, small weddings would be permitted by Phase Four which is due to begin on 20 July.
Phase One started today as retail outlets such as hardware stores and garden centres reopen and constructions workers head back to the job.
The roadmap says that “small social gatherings by family and close friends” such as small weddings and baptisms, limited to a certain number for a limited period while maintaining social distancing, would be permitted from 20 July.
By Phase Five on 10 August, large social gatherings such as larger weddings would be allowed on a restricted basis.
Speaking on RTÉ radio’s Morning Ireland, Simon Harris said he can’t give a specific number of attendees for a small wedding at this time, but this will be advised in the future.
“I know a lot of people are making decisions, big decisions as they try to plan their weddings,” Harris said.
But if I’m really honest with you, and when I talk to public health doctors now, I think it’s highly unlikely that we would be in a position where there would be anything like 100 people being able to be able to be at a wedding in July, it’s likely to be a very very small number of people.
He said the government will work on guidance over the next few weeks in relation to weddings.
“A lot of it will depend on the behavior of the virus, but I know this is causing a lot of angst for a lot of people planning their big day,” he said.
Harris said he is both pleased and nervous that Ireland has reached Phase One of its journey out of lockdown.
The minister said he is nervous “because the virus hasn’t gone away” and there is no vaccine available at this time.
“We all need to now approach these next couple of weeks showing that collective sense a cop on,” he said.
“Just because somewhere is open doesn’t mean we need to go. Just because we can go somewhere, it becomes more and more and more important that we practice social distancing, that we wash our hands, that we do our cough etiquette correctly and that we stay at home, except for the circumstances in which we can leave home.”
He said if the country gets “these next three weeks right”, it means we will have found a way of trying to live successfully and safely alongside the virus.
“We’ve stuck with testing and tracing when other countries have thrown in the towel and the goings gotten tough,” Harris said.
“The HSE has built up a really really good system but this is an area that’s going to require constant vigilance constant improvement and we have got to keep working at it.”
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No harm – maybe people might realise that large ‘show weddings’ aren’t really the important part of getting married. Save the money for the house deposit/rainy day/college fund.
Celebrate with close family and friends and be happy. Inviting more than 100 people to a wedding is more about vanity and politics than it is about celebrating a union.
@Dara O’Brien: I agree. It’s the bride and grooms day.
Everything else is just confetti
@Dara O’Brien: Totally agree. Me and my husband got married on a shoestring and just invited closed family and relatives which was about seventy in total. We had a small ceremony and reception and it was really nice. I don’t get big lavish weddings.
@Dara O’Brien: 100 people is far from a show wedding I’ve been at weddings where 100 would just about cover the families
@Dara O’Brien: I don’t agree. For a lot of people nowadays a wedding is a big party, and there’s nothing wrong with that. They’ve lived together for years, they own a house, maybe they already have kids. It’s a once in a lifetime celebration to be done whatever way they want.
@Dara O’Brien: my wifes mother and father have 5 and 6 siblings respectively. Each have 3,4 or 5 kids. 95% of whom all still live in the rural town she comes from. By rough guess that was about 70 alone. Try having a wedding without inviting them all and id have had to emigrate
@TESSERACT2020: got married last year and no kids were allowed. That’s one way if solving that. We had 90 t 100 guests in a smaller venue and was perfect for us. But it’s all a matter of opinion and desire. I’d have no issue with people wanting larger scale weddings. IRS not for me but Their money their, their marraige, there choice.
I would try advice people though not to get into mountains if debt from a wedding if at an early stage of their lives.
@TESSERACT2020: Politics – that was my point. People end up inviting people for no other reason than they feel pressured into it.
@Daniel Howard: My husband and I ??
@Paul: I’d have different viewpoint. A reception is a big party that my fiancee and I organise to celebrate our marriage with our friends and family. If we want a day that’s all about us, we should get married on our own and invite no one. I imagine the whole idea at a wedding is (a) we get married and (b) we have a big party and everyone has a good time.
@bmul: Fair enough. Normally, there’s no reason to exclude everyone who’s not related to the couple, though. I can think of plenty of couples who met at a wedding. I don’t think it’s about politics either – plenty of people invite friends from work as well. They’re going to be covering for you while you’re on holiday, so it’s reasonable to include them in the party, or the afters, if possible.
We cancelled our wedding until next year. Peace of mind and safety for older members of our family is paramount. We want friends and family to enjoy themselves.
@TheITGuy: We have moved our wedding from March this year to early next year. I am now worried that we may have to move it again.
@Frank Carty: hope it works out for you Frank. Nice pike btw. Any size?
@TheITGuy: thanks, a bit over 26lb
Lucky escape !!!
@James Delaney: hahaha. It’s never too late to step out the back Jack.
@Louis Jacob: hop on the bus, Gus
Are we the only country in Europe with an uneducated minister for health or is this the norm.
@Fabrizio Marini: I don’t think there is any evidence medically qualified Ministers do a better job? James O Reilly??
@Fabrizio Marini: What is education? I know more really ‘educated’ people who never stepped inside the threshold of a college or university. I also know people with two or three degrees and phd’s etc who do not know a bee from a bulls foot
@John Byrne: so true, but Simon Harris is not one of them
@John Byrne: would you allow one of those lads who didn’t get edumacated in college cut open your mam and replace her hip?
There’s education and being educated, two totally different things.
@John Byrne: Remember our esteemed financial regulator whose qualification for the job was failing out of first year Greek and Roman studies at UCD. Education might have benefited him and the rest of is to the tune of about 150 billion euro. Of course he is on a 200k a year pension so has the last laugh
@King B: correct on your latter point re education and being educated. However your question is a bit ridiculous and facetious
@John Byrne: I know, my apologies but I’ve come to the conclusion I had the same feelings about your original question.
@Anne Marie Devlin: I don’t know anything about Simon Harris’ level of education and I don’t wish to know. He is not one of my ‘favourite’ (for the want of a better word) politicians going on his previous record. However he has stepped up to the mark in handling this crisis, albeit he has not got everything right. But it is unchartered territory. Perhaps he and others will learn from this and realise what needs to be done to create a proper health service. The basis is there with the wonderful front line staff, which I have witnessed myself prior to the pandemic. Its the governance of the HSE that needs to be addressed.
@Fabrizio Marini: not only is it not the exception, it should be mandatory not to have a vested interest in their portfolio. A lot of people are confused about a policy maker, or ministers role. They define the strategy of the department, and have field experts in both their department and agencies. Harris job is not to run the HSE, or come up with a cure for covid, but poorly to make sure the right people are able to do their job. Can you imagine only guards were ministers of justice, or bankers in finance? I think your key problem is that he is young, and you don’t trust younger people to make these decisions.
@Brynþór Patrekursson: nope. The problem is that the health service has got markedly worse under his watch from an already very low bar. That’s why he is unqualified. The fact that he has never worked outside politics is telling too in my opinion.
@Ger Finch: I don’t think that that was the qualification for his job, i.e., why they employed him. I’d think the most important qualification for a regulator is to not be in the pocket of industry, lobby groups or politicians.
@Fabrizio Marini: Borris Johnson went to Eton.
About 100 people from all over ireland gather together, then we have wedding Avenue that needs to be super deep cleaned, then we have wedding coordinator who might have a corona but doesnt have symptoms, then we have about 10to 15 staff like bar and servers who also does not have any symptoms. Then we have guests who get drunk amd cough around the place not realizing they have the flu.
Is it really so important to get married at this stage? If you are so much in love why dont u just have 4 to 6 people wedding and enjoy.
@Zane Silver: Do you really think that it’s just that easy for people who had planned for a particular size of wedding, bought outfits, posted invites, paid deposits with venue, suppliers etc, to just change their date and downsize their wedding significantly (and with no government guidelines of to what extent)? In many cases, dates have had to be changed more than once. It’s a giant pain in the hole. But yeah maybe we just shouldn’t get married. All people are looking for here is some sort of clarity as to how many guests might be allowed at a wedding in two months time. The later this guidance is given, the harder it makes life for many people planning the biggest day of their lives.
@Marcas Ó Callanáin: that’s true but this is a moving target. I’m no fan of the current Government but it would be irresponsible of to give exact figure right now as nobody knows how the next few weeks will pan out. It’s terrible for people to be so unsure about their weddings but it would be worse to be given information only for it to be rowed back on.
Other countries have thrown in the towel , the world is not the U.K. , USA or Sweden … Are you kidding me ? You swabbed a lot and people wait ridiculous amounts of time for test results , contact tracing a joke , community testing percentages unknown . Numbers don’t mean quality .
@Isabel Oliveira: Are you commenting on the right article? This one has to do with weddings with 100 people in attendance????
That ship has sailed Minister. All 30 odd couples, both large & small weddings I had booked between March & October have all rescheduled to 2021 and now we play the game to see if the winter ones change dates.
So all those wedding related businesses (mine included) who outside of the large or chain venues are small/micro enterprise or self employed individuals have seen income for 2020 vanish. And when the covid payment is stopped in a month or so because “everyone’s back to work” we’ll all be left high & dry as the next booking is months away due to indecisiveness from those in charge
Forget about the wedding day. But why bother getting married in the first place?.
We live in different times now compared to the 1950s 1960s etc. and we can have multiple partners during our lifetime.
Variety is the spice of life.
@Mark Johnson: As an outsider.
How do you view the human race
@Roger Dawson: You admitted you are an outsider, so you tell me.
@Mark Johnson: If you don’t want to get married then dont. But maybe dont judge others who do?
@Mark Johnson: Your intellect is rivalled only by gardening tools.
NZs biggest cluster, with around 10% of total cases and at least 1 death, was from a wedding in Bluff that had only 65 guests on March 14. It is absolutely correct to be wary of letting any wedding with even a ‘small’ number of guests go ahead…
If your desperate enough to impress your in laws why not rent a boat that offers social distancing for 100 people. Any boat captain can marry a couple.
Myself I have learned something about marriage, in laws and social distancing during this intolerable lockdown. My mistake was making love to the mother in-law sooner during thus pandamic. All those weeks under the same foor fighting while social distancing where in vain. Downs d
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