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JUSTICE MINISTER HELEN McEntee has said that Cabinet felt that allowing gardaí enter the private home of someone to shut down a house party would be an “extreme measure”.
In what is being described as a u-turn by government, the Cabinet decided against including new enforcement powers into proposed legislation that will seek to shut down pubs that break public health guidelines.
Earlier this month, the government flagged that it wanted gardaí to be given powers to interrupt and prevent house parties.
“We do need immediate sanctions where there’s a clear breach of the public health measures because that clearly has a ripple effect across the wider community,” Taoiseach Micheál Martin said at the time.
It is understood that the issue around how to tackle house parties was subject to a lengthy discussion among ministers.
The constitutional rights of people and their homes was raised around the Cabinet table, and some ministers felt that the penal provision went too far.
Speaking to reporters this evening about why the government backtracked on the idea of sending officers into peoples’ homes to break up gatherings, the justice minister said concerns had been raised by the gardaí and the National Public Health Emergency Team (NPHET) about house parties and social gatherings.
“We looked at a number of options over the last week and a half and what we’ve decided today… is that a statutory instrument would be implemented, around the number of people which can gather in a home, it wouldn’t be a penal provision.
“I think we have to look at how far do we go here, particularly when we’re talking about somebody’s home. It was found that this would be perhaps an extreme measure, particularly around entering somebody’s home,” she said.
“We really want to work with people here and we’ve seen throughout all of this that people have complied in the vast majority of instances… So this is why we agreed and came to the decision that we did today,” said McEntee.
Tánaiste Leo Varadkar said that while there has been a lot of talk about international travel and workplace clusters, over 90% of clusters have occurred in private homes, not just house parties, but smaller gatherings too, he said.
“That’s why we’re asking people to limit to six, the number of people who you invite into your home at any given time. That is now going to be underpinned by regulation, so it will be underpinned by law, but it won’t be a criminal offence. You won’t be prosecuted but it will be a civil matter,” he said.
He said this is no different than some of the other regulations that were underpinned by law such as the distance you could travel outside your home a number of months ago.
“This really isn’t about us charging into peoples homes… this is really about asking people to stick with us. We know that over 90% of cases and cluster infections are happening in private homes, and the only way we can stop that is by people limiting the number of people that they invite into their home.
“No more than six people at any one time. No more than three households, that is really what we are asking people to do because that’s what will stop the virus spreading from person to person, and allow us to resume reopening our economy,” said Varadkar.
The Irish Council for Civil Liberties, the Labour Party and Sinn Féin had all voiced their opposition to proposals to grant gardaí the new powers.
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That is a scary number of job losses in an industry already under pressure, also now only leaves one major tour operator on the British high street I think, TUI, I sense a further swing to online operators
@Vocal Outrage: believe it or not but some people still like to go into the local travel agents to book the family holiday.. Low deposits and paying it off by the week is very appealing to some people..
@David Garland: some people liked buying CD’S too and look what happened there.
It’s generational thing. But their days are numbered. Online bookings have taken over
@James O Donoghue: So you reckon it’s only the older generation that book in the retail shops? All ages go into travel agents and book holidays because sometimes it’s cheaper and as I pointed out if you’re booking five flights and a hotel you can pay €50 deposit and pay it off as you go. All the leaving cert students book in travel agencies and they’re the generation you think are booking online.. Flights and park passes to Disneyland for example cost thousands, they can be booked with low deposits but need to be paid in full if booking yourself online..
@Vocal Outrage: TUI are german.
@David Garland: Yeah you’re right there actually. I’m in college and that’s exactly what a friend of mine and myself did this summer. Being college students and only having money from summer jobs, we paid a €50 deposit and paid the rest weekly for a month or so
@David Garland: As far as I’m aware there are online agents that you can do the same with, deposit followed by installments.
@David Garland: I believe that was my point, the Thomas Cook closing it further limits the options for physically going into a travel agents as opposed to doing it all online. Plus, many independant travel agents would have worked with Thomas Cook as effectively a wholesaler to reduce costs.
@Terrence Edwards: but they are a major player in terms of physical travel agents upon the British high street are they not? I was looking from a consumer perspective, rather than where they maybe headquartered?
@Diarmuid Hunt: Many do. But it’s a rip off. If you have a bank, credit union or post office account you’re far better off getting a loan and paying off the holiday in full. Roughly 8% average APR with financial institutions, versus for example 29.9% APR with lastminute.com.
@Vocal Outrage: TUI will have a monopoly now which is good for nobody. The entire finance industry needs new regulations.
Britain is such a wonderful country we won’t need to travel to those gasthly countries in Europe to holiday anymore. We will travel the Queens highway to holiday in her kingdom or visit the off shore island of Ireland. Sorted.
@Manbackonboard: is that because your mastery of the English language suits you better in English speaking locations?
@GerryCummins: well ya, except when I go to kerry. What language do they speak there??
Very sorry to see this. Have never used them for a package but we flew to Mexico with them earlier in the year and it was by far the nicest experience I’ve had on a plane. Staff couldn’t have been friendlier or more accommodating.
Can’t beat b&b in Kerry
@Joe Shea: Ah you can for sure. Look at Killarney, an awful dump.
@Jesus Christ: Tralee is worse but Kerry in general is one of the best. Beautiful places to visit
Jesus Christ you can’t be serious?
@Joe Shea: half the price abroad and somewhere sunny
@Joe Shea: Ah, shure, ya can go Shpain for a fortnight for fifty quid and the sun is guaranteed.
Don’t forget that travel insurance folks. Its getting all to common this last few years. Sad to see so many people lose jobs
Thomas Cook has been in trouble since last year, its strange that people kept booking holidays with them. Always check a travel company’s financial background before booking and get your travel insurance the day you book your holiday not a few days before you travel.
How about a few lines in the Impact in Ireland – number of Irish jobs lost – Number of Irish stuck abroad – lazy journalism .
@Roots Green: maybe it’s not known yet. They’re journalists not script writers.
@Jesus Christ: no harm in making up a few numbers to tied us over until facts are known. Keeps the story edgy and engaging….
The dangers of running tight margin business when you still maintain large overhead costs. Business and commerce are changing at a really fast pace and if you can’t react quickly enough, you’ll fail hard.
9,000 jobs gone in the UK overnight is a tough pill to swallow and, at this time of year, prospects in the holiday space aren’t great to say the least.
@Dara O’Brien:
Agreed! Sad that after 178 years this global brand has had to cease trading. With 90 days credit being granted to TC by the hotels, it needed a strong constant pipeline of punters to keep the house of cards stable. Brexit, declining value of Sterling, direct booking via Internet…TC business model was an accident waiting to happen.
Fosun’s first €450m investment deal of last month appears to have been executed, per the article, with those 75% and 25% acquisitions. Painful, unless post-collapse benefits have been factored in eg Brand Acquisition for one Pound.
It’s not at all like very astute Chinese Investors to get caught in such a short time span on an investment.
@Rory J Leonard: there would be a lot of assets left in the company and as existing major shareholder and now primary debtor they should get their pick of them- including 30+ Airbus a320s only purchased last year…
@Rory J Leonard: actually I’ve just checked and their fleet in worth in the region of 3.25 billion…
@Lainie Ed: I would say they are leasing the aircraft. I was on a TUI plane last week. On boarding, if you look at the plate above your head walking into the cabin, it says something like this plane is leased and owned by Well Fargo Bank.
Probably blame the Backstop and Brexit.. Sorry to see so many out of work and lost holidays
@Joseph Molloy: I’m in Spain at the moment where it has affected a lot of people. Unbelievably, many Brit ex pats are whinging that the EU should have stepped in to save the company!!! Presumably just add the cost to the Brexit divorce bill that may never be paid?
@Paul Shepherd: I saw a show about interviewing a load of Old English people in southern spain that ahd voted for Brexit. When they were told their pets would need passports, their medicals wouldnt be covered, they would probably need a tourist visa etc etc, they were all going “Huh, what?” They don’t seem top realise they have shot themselves in the foot.
They are rightly Thomas Cooked!
@David Van-Standen: Down the Thomas Crapper!
One of Boris’s “bumps on the road”
Bye now!
Capitalists playing with people’s lives… acting like this wasn’t on the cards.
Thomas Cook to Thomass Crook
O Learey won’t have difficulties replacing staff now
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