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TÁNAISTE LEO VARADKAR has said there is no guarantee that pubs will reopen on 10 August.
Speaking during Leaders’ Questions, the Tánaiste said he could not say if pubs will reopen on that date, but said they certainly will not be opening before that date.
“We’re not saying they will open on the 10th of August – we are saying they will open no sooner than the 10th of August.”
The reopening of pubs next month will depend on the figures relating to the virus.
His comments come as a number of TDs told Varadkar the government had made the wrong decision by pausing Phase Four yesterday.
Independent TD Michael Healy-Rae hit out at the delay in pubs re-opening, stating that it will majorly impact on rural areas. He said the entire country should not be punished for the actions of a few.
“There’s a big difference between Portmagee and Dame Lane,” he said.
He also took issue with pubs serving food being allowed to open but those that do not remaining closed.
“What is the difference between a person with a pint of Guinness and a toasted cheese sandwich in this hand… and person inside another pub with a pint of Guinness and no toasted cheese sandwich?” asked Healy Rae.
“You are a doctor, why does that pose a public health danger,” he said, adding that “it is a crazy decision by the government”.
Varadkar agreed that the vast majority of publicans are responsible.
However, he said the government was always clear that the roadmap was not set in stone and could be accelerated or halted, depending on the public health advice.
The Tánaiste said he did “feel for people” who had painted the pub, ordered in stock in the expectation that they would be opening on Monday.
He said guidelines were being formulated for pubs on how they will be able to reopen, but said it might include rules about limiting numbers to “very small numbers”.
Varadkar said it is a “hammer blow” to publicans. He wasn’t the only one looking forward to “freedom pints” next week, he told the Dáil.
Healy Rae said pubs were ready to open their doors and the government pulled the rug from under them.
The National Public Health Emergency Team (NPHET) said they are looking internationally as to what happened when pubs reopened, and it resulted in a spike, said Healy Rae. However, he said rural pubs are “unique” to pubs in other parts of the world.
They cater for “smaller numbers of people” he said, stating that “local people come in from countryside for a drink”.
“You have really missed the bigger picture here,” he said, stating the reopening of pubs on Monday would not have seen a recurrence of the virus.
Varadkar said the virus is “still very low” with “roughly 20 cases per day”, but he said the trajectory was a matter of concern and was going in the wrong direction.
He said this was “90% due to our own behaviours”.
“People in close contact with one another in confined indoor spaces breathing on each other, coughing on each other, touching each other, and as a result of that, we have seen a number of clusters often linked to house parties,” said the Tánaiste.
When alcohol is consumed “in house parties or on the streets…it is very hard to maintain social distancing”, said Varadkar.
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Enjoy Summer Outdoors? Good luck with a fearful, incompetent, under the cosh of NEPHET government, a dreadful Dublin City council and a media that just loves a crowd of “revellers” to wag the finger at. How far we’ve fallen from our self congratulatory liberalism, and how fast…..
@Patrick McConville: Get of the stage Patrick you drama queen, they don’t all have to gargle on a postage stamp in the middle of town. I remember Paddy’s day in around 2002 when gardai on horse back ran people out of the park, mostly teenagers like myself all drinking and enjoying the weather. There’s loads of other places to go.
@Alan Biddulph:
Is that you Tony?
@Alan Biddulph: people, including teenagers, should be able to use any public space that they want, so long as they’re not damaging the place. These a are ‘public’ spaces ffs!
@Alan Biddulph: If the Garda and DCC did their job, this wouldn’t have happened. In Paris, alcohol was banned from parks with checks on the gates to ensure the frigging things stay open for everyone. Yes, alcohol is a problem. Hammer and nut is NOT the solution. Another example of zero nuance, zero ideas, path of least resistance. Are we a society or not? Pulling out the shame hose on the people when you couldn’t be ar-sed doesn’t build citizenship. Looks like a response though. Muppets.
@Jason Shortt: Nothing against it at all, I’m delighted to see a bit of life in the city but I’m afraid it going to prolong the agony for the rest of us waiting for pre covid freedom to come back.
@Alan Biddulph: cowering from NPHET and the government got us nowhere. Isn’t it time we said enough of this bloody nonsense?
@Jason Shortt: Yea I agree, it feels like forever.
How about dealing with the trouble makers and let the normals enjoy the park.
@Terry Tibbs: All the oul ones forget their youth very quick, and think they own the place …. If they abhor all the activity outside, what they should be doing is getting back into their cocoons until they get the booster jab ….
@Martin Galvin: I walked through the park today and I saw 4 men urinating in public and a young girl of no more than 16 vomiting. This was at 3pm with lots of kids around having finished school. I have no issue with the park being open but the mess / smell / behaviour was not great with kids around. I can understand why they closed early
All thats needed is some proactive, positive policing in the city centre. Visible garda on foot interacting with people and making it known they have to behave themselves. Everything the Garda do is reactive, as if they’re surprised by everything that happens, everytime it happens. Reform and rethinking of approach badly needed in our policing community.
@Diar O Doc: well said.
Back in my day..underage drinking was done in bushes or woods…these kids are fairly brazen arnt they?
@Pol Mlp: wont find many woods in the city centre tbf
@Pol Mlp: Yes, and kissing was done in corners, gays were just going through ‘a phase’ and mother’s lived with their babies in homes. Jesus flipping wept…
@Patrick McConville: so you’re rationale is that openly urinating in public and puking your guts up in full view of everyone is a sign of us moving with the times and should be celebrated as progression as a nation..? Jesus and a few other lads would most definitely be weeping…
Going to be an interesting weekend nation wide.
Why are the Garda so passive,just arrest people and have zero tolerance otherwise no deterrent!
@Ray Browne: yep, let’s start arresting people for the crime of ‘gathering in a park’. They were told to enjoy ‘an outdoor summer’. Guess what, it’s summer. At least half the people in this country have lost their grip on reality.
@Ray Browne: Excellent idea. Maybe if people are caught having fun twice, we could make them wear a badge so all the righteous can stay away. What do you think about the star of David.
@Jason Shortt: He didn’t say to arrest people for gathering in the park. But if you’re drinking while not being of the legal age, being abusive or causing a disturbance then why shouldn’t you be arrested
@Bluechip78: he didn’t specify what he thinks people should be arrested for. There is not even any mention of people ‘being abusive’, or of anyone ‘causing a disturbance’ in this article (unless you mean the two people who were seen moving a temporary fence earlier in the day). And ARREST young people for having drink – are you effing serious?
@Jason Shortt: yes enjoy an out door summer responsibly, gardaí were called to the park because of under age drinking, id**ts also pulling fencing from bandstand. Dont blame them closing park if this was the carry on early in the day. Things would have gotten worse as the more alcohol was takent
@Sue OB: according to the article, it wasn’t “early in the day’. It closes at 9 and they closed it an hour early. There was mention of just 2 people moving a temporary fence earlier in the day. The article says that the park was closed due to large numbers of people ‘gathering’ in it. Public spaces are owned by the public. The gardai have no business telling people they can’t enjoy public spaces.
@Jason Shortt: they can if they are drinking in public, whatever the age. 2 people moved the fence and plenty more bundled in, people need to decide if they want to protect historical structures or not
@Eamonn Martin: you’re sick
“Donoghue said there was a disconnect between the elected councillors’ wishes for how to create an outdoor summer, and those of unelected decision makers.”
Says it all. There needs to be a root and branch reform to make the council executives entirely subservient to the wishes of the elected councilors.
@Patrick FitzGerald: Yes I have a serious issue with the undemocratic nature of council executives.
Is it true that only 0.1 % of Covid is spread outdoors? If so, what’s the fuss about ?
@Virgil: if the public measures are taken ie masks, social distancing etc. You are 20 times less likely to catch Covid outdoors compared to indoors. If you are standing inches apart instead of 2 metres and wearing no masks that number of 20 comes way down.
The 0.1% relates to group outbreaks and not one to one transmission. Also there is around 20% community transmission ( unknown source of transmission) in this country.
@Virgil: also some people get buses to and from these places so there is also a greater transmission risk there.
@Kevin Thompson: Exactly, the buses and Luas and the Dart would be packed to the doors after people are finished drinking in town.
My understanding of democracy, from this response to the article, is that everyone must be allowed to do whatever they want, whenever they want, wherever they want, and that the authorities who are charged with maintaining the democracy must not do anything to hinder anyone.
I’m an alien from another planet and this seems illogical.
@Nick Caffrey: the lack of social responsibility these days is shocking.
Absolute joke, close off the area where people can breathe and enjoy themselves after a prolonged lockdown… Shame on our city officials
@Johnny G: Ah Johnny….missing the point here its the vandalism that’s the issue along with p!ssing and vomiting in bushes nowt to do with breathing ir outdoors. Nice try though.
Whatever about outdoors on Sth Williams Street etc no issues for me, however it’s the ripping down fences around a 100 yr old stand in Stephens Green and then swinging from the roof… Just pure brazen.
If we want to control unruly crowds in the city then we have to take the restraints off the Gardai. Let them act like the Guardia Civil in Spain or the Gendarmerie in France when dealing with mobs.
C’mon folks, we’re all in this together…. I’m sick of people saying the CSO Statistics for all cause death and hospital occupancy fail to demonstrate that 2020 was anything odd. In terms of both numbers, for the past 20 years(I know I’m currently on a connected device where I can verify this for myself within 5 mins…. but). We need to trust RTE… “Do your part”…. “Hold Firm” n’ all that.
Can’t people go outside and not gather in football team size groups.
@andrew: Considering football teams have indeed been allowed gather outside for a month now, this could be the stup1dest comment I’ve read on The Journal for some time. Quite an achievement.
@Big Tel: Now, what is it that sarcasm is supposed to be…. I forget…
@andrew: Football teams wouldn’t be so bad. That’s only 11 people. Football supporter crowd size is the problem. That’s hundreds and thousands of people
According to a New York Times article on May 11th, the US CDC have said no recorded case of Covid from outside transmission worldwide
https://www.nytimes.com/2021/05/11/briefing/outdoor-covid-transmission-cdc-number.html
I would love to know if NPHET and the all knowing Tony would think of this?
Don’t you mean St Stephen’s Green? What’s the agenda with dropping the Saint reference? Where’s Stephen’s Green? Beside Stephen’s House? Which Stephen? So many questions…..
@Colin Heffernan: Wow. Get a life Colin.
@JustMeHere: Wow? Do you normally get so excited when someone points out a glaring error? Wow indeed! You must be one of those anti Christians?
People who grew up in the surrounding areas always just called it the Green.
@Phylly Lane: That’s because your personal context is local, there is no other Green, only St Stephen’s. The Journal is a National and even International news media. If there was a murder in Eyre’s Square, and Galway people only referred to it as ‘The Square’, and The Journal reported a story about a body being discovered in The Square, no one outside Galway reading this would understand where this murder took place. Hope you understand that. Take care and God bless.
Ah! Leave it out!
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