Restaurants and pubs should be free to serve all customers indoors without restrictions once 80 to 85 per cent of adults are vaccinated, industry representatives will tell government officials at a meeting tomorrow.
Adrian Cummins, chief executive of the Restaurant Association of Ireland, is meeting officials from the departments of tourism, enterprise and health to call for a roadmap out of indoor dining restrictions.
Cummins said that unvaccinated customers “should also be able to dine indoors” as some people cannot get vaccinated for medical reasons and it is unfair to exclude them. He said he would also make the case for a return to pre-Covid opening hours, currently 11.30pm, and the scrapping of the two-metre distance between tables.
“We need a roadmap out of Covid restrictions once 80 to 85 per cent are vaccinated,” he told The Times.
Cummins said the 11:30pm curfew was causing problems for people using public transport to get home at the same time.
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Bars and restaurants were allowed to resume serving customers indoors last week, but only if they are vaccinated or have recovered from Covid-19. Under the rules, which were drawn up by Failte Ireland in conjunction with the government and industry representatives, the responsibility for assessing the compliance of venues lies with the Health and Safety Authority (HSA) and the HSE. Gardai have no powers to carry out spot checks.
It has also emerged that the health and safety watchdog has not been given any additional funding to hire extra inspectors to police indoor dining. Damien English, junior minister at the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment, said the HSA will have to use its “existing cohort of inspectors” to carry out checks.
He added: “The HSA will utilise its existing cohort of inspectors to carry out its role under the Health (Amendment) (No.2) Act 2021. The main role of the compliance officer will be to establish that the operator of an indoor premises covered by the Act has complied with the necessary conditions concerning entry to indoor hospitality.”
He made the comments in response to a parliamentary question from Róisín Shortall, the Social Democrats co-leader.
English said the spot checks were to confirm that the business is “complying with all public health protocols” and that all employees “have undertaken infection prevention control training”.
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He said the HSA had previously hired 12 temporary clerical officers in the workplace contact unit.
“The HSA is currently progressing a recruitment campaign to increase the number of staff in inspector roles, with additional inspectors having already joined the HSA in the last month,” he said.
A HSA spokeswoman said this recruitment campaign is not related to its additional requirements related to indoor dining, and was due to happen anyway.
Cummins said he wasn’t aware of any checks being carried out by the HSA over the last week but heard of undercover inspections by the HSE.
“I’ve heard of undercover environmental health officers who have gone in and bought a meal, and then spoke to the manager about whether they were asked or not asked the correct questions,” he said. “They seem to be very isolated, they are not that common.”
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He said the HSE inspectors appeared to be following the same path as gardai earlier in the pandemic, by first issuing warnings rather than enforcement measures.
Cummins said that the industry had called for a “ramping up” of inspections to ensure a “level playing field” being businesses. “It’s important that any rogue operators are dealt with to protect people doing the right thing, which is following public health advice.”
A further 1,352 new cases of Covid-19 were confirmed in Ireland yesterday while 177 people were in hospital with the virus, including 27 in intensive care. In total, 87 per cent of adults have received at least a first dose of a vaccine, while 73 per cent are fully vaccinated.
Paul Reid, the HSE chief executive, tweeted yesterday morning that it had been an “inspiring weekend” after more than 18,000 people were vaccinated at first dose walk in centres on Saturday and Sunday. The 26 centres, open to anyone over 16 without an appointment, were also in operation again yesterday (Mon), and the HSE has said they will be used again in future.
A HSA spokeswoman said: “The primary focus to date has been on supporting businesses and indoor operators understand their obligations to ensure that only permitted persons who have provided a proof of immunity dine or drink indoors. This is a new legislative role for the authority and existing inspectors will be taking up the compliance officer functions that have been identified in the regulation.”
