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LAST UPDATE | 29 Jun 2021
BUCKLE YOUR SEATBELTS.
What we thought we knew about July has been well and truly turned on its head.
Cabinet met today to make a decision on indoor dining, which was due to reopen on 5 July but has now been pushed back.
The National Public Health Emergency Team (NPHET) gave modelling to government members yesterday on the potential spread of the Delta variant if hospitality reopens indoors.
Now, indoor services in pubs and restaurants have been delayed while a system is developed that would allow verification of vaccination or immunity from Covid-19.
Hi folks.
Well, here we are again, waiting together to hear what the next stage of Covid-19 restrictions will look like.
Lauren Boland here, I’ll be with you for the next while as we find out what will or won’t be allowed in the hospitality sector over the coming weeks. Get in touch with your thoughts via Lauren@TheJournal.ie or on Twitter @LaurenAnna_1.
We’re expecting details on indoor dining early this afternoon after a Cabinet meeting – but as you know yourself, these things can stretch on longer than planned, so we’ll see how it goes.
Things are about as clear as mud right now, but what do we know so far?
The provisional plan for July that the government previously announced would have allowed several restrictions to be eased or lifted at the start of the month, including permission for indoor services to return in pubs and restaurants.
Outdoor dining has been open since 7 June (and indoor dining was allowed in hotels and B&Bs for residents from 2 June).
Luckily, we’ve (mostly) had the weather for the ol outdoor dining so far.
Indoor dining in pubs and restaurants was due to follow on 5 July – but since then, the arrival of the Delta variant on the scene has shaken up the playbook.
It’s now likely that the reopening will be pushed back to at least the middle of the month.
Minister for Health Stephen Donnelly is due to speak on RTÉ Radio One’s News at One, so we may well have a clearer picture on Cabinet’s decision in the next hour.
It was a late one for the Cabinet’s Covid-19 subcommittee last night, which didn’t emerge from Government Buildings until the wee hours.
Members met to discuss advice from NPHET – which also convened yesterday – on public health measures and the Delta variant.
The takeaway from last night’s meeting was that indoor dining would be delayed until at least 19 July to give the government time to work out their stance on a NPHET recommendation that only vaccinated people or those who have recovered from Covid-19 could dine indoors safely.
Green Party leader Eamon Ryan said some of the details from NPHET were new and unexpected.
NPHET’s letter to the Cabinet Covid-19 committee set out some modelling for dealing with the Delta variant, with best, medium and worse case scenarios.
The worst case scenario – deep breath – would potentially be 700,000 cases and over 2,000 deaths between July and September.
A better scenario was 81,000 cases and 165 deaths.
NPHET emphasised that the medium to best case scenarios were more likely.
It’s been a rough few days (well – a rough year, really) for pubs and restaurants as they’ve waited to hear what their fate will be next month.
Brian Renaghan, a publican in Monaghan, told The Journal yesterday that it’s “soul-destroying” when “you’re after spending a lifetime building up a business and the people who were there before you building it up, for this to happen”.
In Galway, restaurateur Jp McMahon said that “one week in July is worth a whole month in the winter. If we lose two weeks at the start of July, that’s effectively two months takings that we’re going to have to cover in the winter.”
But today’s not only about indoor dining – there’s also a question mark over other activities, particularly for people who aren’t vaccinated, in places like theatres, music venues, bowling alleys and more.
All going to plan (fingers crossed), we’re looking at a 1pm announcement from Taoiseach Micheál Martin on Cabinet’s decision.
Meanwhile, it’s a bit of a scorcher out there, and outdoor dining will likely be in full swing around the country.
One reader has written in to suggest that the government should put practices like rapid testing and localised lockdowns in place to handle hospitality and the Delta variant, as well as closely assessing what has worked in other countries and communicating clearly with the public.
“We need to learn from our mistakes at Christmas but not be paralysed with fear from it,” our reader said.
The Taoiseach is making his address now (the 15th one like it).
Wedding receptions can increase to 50 attendees as planned, but indoor hospitality is being delayed.
The Taoiseach has said he knows that businesses will feel “dismay and frustration” at the decision and that additional supports will be provided over the coming weeks.
And there we have it – it was a short speech from the Taoiseach, only around five minutes long.
There was no detail on when pubs and restaurants will be allowed to open indoors.
Here’s the breakdown on the government’s website now – indoor services won’t be going ahead as planned.
A system will be developed for verifying whether someone has been vaccinated or has immunity from Covid-19, and the goverment will “devise an implementation plan by 19 July”.
Minister for Health Stephen Donnelly is speaking now on RTÉ Radio One’s News at One.
He says that hospitality staff won’t need to be vaccinated in order to return to work indoors when pubs and restaurants do reopen.
“My hope is that none of the scenarios we’ve seen come to pass,” Donnelly says, referencing the modelling put forward by NPHET on the potential impact of the Delta variant.
Younger people should hopefully be vaccinated “several weeks” earlier than planned by expanding the rollout of AstraZeneca and Janssen.
“Our job is to minimise the risks and keep our country on the right track,” Eamon Ryan says over at the post-announcement briefing.
The Taoiseach says that the modelling from NPHET was “quite stark” in terms of the transmissibility of Delta and its potential impact on the number of Covid-19 cases and hospitalisations.
The letter that Chief Medical Officer Dr Tony Holohan sent to Stephen Donnelly yesterday with NPHET’s modelling and advice is available to view here.
“The other measures [aside from outdoor activities] which were due to be eased on the 5th July which, by their nature are high risk activities which will involve significant levels of social mixing in indoor environments, should only be permitted for those who have been fully protected by vaccination or who have had Covid-19 infection in the previous nine months,” NPHET recommended.
“The planned easing of these measures should only proceed once a robust, non-reproducible and enforceable system of verification of vaccination or immunity status can be put in place to support this. If this is not deemed feasible, the Government should consider pausing further easing of these measures until such a system can be instituted.”
“We only ever planned to use vaccination passes for international travel. It was government policy not to use those for domestic services,” Tánaiste Leo Varadkar says at the briefing.
He says it’s a big, difficult change that Cabinet members aren’t particularly happy about.
“But the alternative is to keep these facilities and services closed until we reach herd immunity, and we can’t say when that is.”
The Taoiseach was asked if it’s fair on young people that they may be working in a pub or restaurant indoors while they’re unvaccinated, but that they couldn’t eat or drink where they work before they receive a vaccine.
He said that it’s “never been a condition” of working that someone would need a vaccine and that requiring vaccines (or immunity) among customers would help to protect employees.
Fianna Fáil Senator Lisa Chambers has tweeted that she believes the government has made the “wrong decision”.
“We are splitting the people and leaving younger people behind, the very cohort that have shouldered the greatest burden to protect others,” she said.
And they’re off – the post-announcement briefing has ended.
Eamon Ryan actually left early a while ago to head to Leaders’ Questions in the Dáil – there’ll be no time for sitting out in the sun anyway.
Reactions are starting to roll in from opposition parties and pubs and restaurants that are impacted by the change in plans – let’s take a nose around and have a look at what they’re saying.
Retail Excellence, a representative group for retailers, says that it’s “extremely unhelpful” that there’s been no new date set for the indoor reopening.
Board member Fergal Doyle describes the delay as a “hammer-blow for the hospitality industry in Ireland” that will have “significant ramifications for business owners and staff around the country”.
“We understand that this is a tough decision for the Government to have to make, but this does not lessen the impact on business owners who are fighting for their survival after a terrible year and it is extremely unhelpful that we do not have a timeframe for a reopening plan,” Doyle said.
The Social Democrats are calling the new plan unworkable and unenforceable.
“It is completely unworkable, totally unenforceable and raises serious legal and ethical issues,” says health spokesperson Róisín Shorthall.
“Is the government seriously suggesting it should stand over a system predicated on unvaccinated younger people serving older vaccinated people in the hospitality sector – and those younger people being unable to dine in those establishments themselves?” she asked.
“We are now in a situation in which more than 40pc of adults are fully vaccinated and more than 60pc of people have received a first vaccine dose. At what point, in the vaccination schedule, is Nphet suggesting it will be safe to reopen indoor dining?”
Breaking from the pack, Fianna Fáil Senator Malcolm Byrne has just put out a statement about the Leaving Cert in 2022.
“What is important is that there is clarity as soon as possible and certainly before the students return in September for their Leaving Cert that they know what they are going to face for that academic year,” Byrne said.
No doubt we’ll hear more talk about the Leaving Cert later in the summer and autumn as results are published and new sixth years start classes, but the spotlight for today is certainly shining on pubs and restaurants more than on schools.
The question of unvaccinated young people working in hospitality is dominating a lot of the political response to today’s announcement.
Kerry County Councillor Jackie Healy Rae said that it is “incredible to think that the government feel that it will be safe for those of a certain age to enjoy indoor hospitality while more likely than not the person who will be serving them will be a young person who is not vaccinated”.
He wants to see the government reverse today’s decision.
Speaking in the Dáil, Labour leader Alan Kelly said the plan is “not practical, it’s unenforceable and it’s discriminatory”.
He said the plan will “divide the people of this country”.
“You’re saying to young people it’s illegal for you to go down the road for a pint if you’re not vaccinated, you can’t go for a meal in a restaurant, but it’s not illegal because of European law to go up to Northern Ireland, or get on a flight to Spain, and go for as many meals or as many drinks as you want.”
“We’re essentially saying to young people of Ireland, your summer will consist of sitting at home and watching Love Island because that’s what we think of you,” Kelly said.
As a young person, I can confirm my plans for later this evening do indeed involve watching Love Island.
Also in the Dáil (remember his early departure from the briefing?), Green Party leader Eamon Ryan said government wants to sit down with stakeholders, unions and industry representatives about the new plans.
He said the AstraZeneca and Janssen vaccines being permitted for anyone aged 18 or older was “an important element” of the decisions made.
With the announcement announced and the responses, er, responded, that’s about it for today.
Here’s a round-up of some of the key developments:
Thanks for following along with our updates, and look it, we’ll probably have another one of these days soon enough.
Lauren here signing off – enjoy the sun.
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All well and good, but it will only work if people want to work. The only reason somebody should be out of work today is if they are physically or mentally unable to.
@Coco86: Social welfare should be capped per area. No square kilometre of the country should be allowed more than 8% of its people on the dole.
@specialsue: that’s ambitious. Not a huge amount going on in Frenchpark.
@specialsue: well that’s the most moronic statement I’ll read all day. And how exactly does this work? First come first served and good luck to everyone else?
@specialsue: I have heard some ridiculous statements but that has to be the worst.think about it again and come back in and apologize.
@Coco86: depends on the work, apprenticeships good , minimum wage jobs in Tesco not good.
@Hardly Normal: well then get an apprenticeship.
@Eon Cocker: specialsue specialises in these type of comments. Reactionary and populist sound bites.
@Hardly Normal: getting of the ar5e to begin with, good
@Coco86: are you hiring?
@Hardly Normal: And whats wrong with working anywhere on minimum wage while looking for an apprenticeship?
@marian: I am actually, are you looking?
@Coco86: yeah, can you please give me the address so i can come there and talk with a manager also please give me your name so i can say I spoke with you about a job position… thanks!
@marian: I’m currently recruiting for a number of live roles based in the South East. Register with one of the three recruitment firms in Waterford, put coco in the subject line and ill find you :)
@Coco86: so cool man i am actually from waterford, just give me the business address and your name i can meet you today at one of your recruitment agencies.
@marian: I’ve just told you what to Do, but you can have the last word, I’m quite busy – at work – you know what that is? Have fun pal x
@Coco86: ok I just did, I’ve put coco in the email subject can you please reply back to me!? Thanks!
@Coco86: you can bring a horse to a water trough but ……..
@Coco86: still waiting!
@Coco86: dude you need professional help, have you tried mentalhealthireland.ie ?
Absolute rubbish I was unemployed and I was given every opportunity and help to find employment, As much as I enjoy slagging the government at every available chance, I was allowed do courses free of charge and have another diploma under my belt thanks to my local employment center. I work for myself now.
@Graham Light: Well said Graham and fair play. I was out of full time work for almost three years during the recession. Re-skilled in college now im on a completely different career path. All these opportunities are still there but most dont want them. Serious review of the social welfare system for those who can but wont work would be a better use of time
@Graham Light: agreed and well done, and i wish you the best of luck. I can only imagine that these 8k out of work must be the sc&mbags who have no intention of working and make a few bob out of peddling dope, They should be made sweep the strees
@Joe Mc: “peddling dope”
What’s this Compton?
@Mark McDermott: Have a walk around parts of our beautiful capital at night and you may as well be in Compton. I went to get milk the other day for my Dad and counted 6 needles on the street, its a 5 minute walk. I am very proud of where my family come from, infact its our family home for generation’s but its not a nice place to walk around at night anymore.
@Graham Light: the only point I’ll differ with you is you have to remember these younger people came of working age when there was no work. My belief is if your not working by the age of 17-18 you get into a rot which is hard to break
@Graham Light: Well said Graham, Our social welfare is the problem, it should be gradually reduced for people able to work, no excuses for not working in the current environment, this throwing free money at people that are able but unwilling to work has to stop.
@David Clarke: I agree with you David its not easy but its not impossible either. I know I was unemployed feeling low, unable to buy the things I wanted, feeling like a drain on society but all I am saying is there is so many courses available and they are free.
@Graham Light: agree I was on the dole also and did a course didn’t mind keeps the head right.
@Graham Light: And here’s another false name no profile FG’er praising the government and himself.
@Dave Doyle: thanks for the heads up
@Dave Doyle: I have been called alot of things during my life but a FG’er thats a first, however your entitled to your opinion and in relation to praising myself, I have ever right too, I worked hard in my course and I am proud of myself.
@Dave Doyle: Don’t see your contribution to the discussion. Aside from the major problems with this government nobody can say they dont have opportunities to better themselves via education. Do what you like then emigrate or stay or whatever. But it’s a bit rich to have a pop at someone for taking the opportunities, and yes fair play to successive governments for providing said opportunities. But I’d imagine you just like complaining, here – have some free money
Social welfare has this country ruined.
“Innocent people are dying in the streets” as a result of homelessness.
SW is a career choice now. It’s the same standard of living as those on low income wages so what’s the point in working?
@Pajo Mata: It can also ruin the chances of healthy young people receiving it long term as they don’t learn to stand on their own feet, thereby missing out on the great opportunities that life has to offer.
@Pajo Mata: who has died on the streets as a result of homelessness ?? Proof please……I think you will find they died of something other than homelessness….
@Pajo Mata: exactly
@Gerry Cummins: Hmmm being homeless, can cause a person to lose all self worth, I don’t blame homeless people wanting to drink alcohol all day if it numbs the pain, if it makes them blackout, anything to escape the absolute misery of homelessness. I would say that the people who died on the streets homelessness was a contributing factor
Can’t work won’t work
@John Swan: more like can work won’t work
@Dave Byrne: Too true
@John Swan:
We should do the same as Italy is going to do: refuse 3 job offers in 2 years, lose your dole.
Plus, welfare should always be cut when unemployment is low, not increase it. But no political party in Ireland backs that idea despite being warned about it by the OECD.
So when you hit a recession, and one is soon coming, you’ll have billions more in payouts.
If there is easy welfare money and you’re better off being on the dole than working some jobs, then there’s no incentive to get a job. Oh, and stop importing low-skilled and unskilled people, which is bad in all sorts of ways.
I fear it will never change no matter who’s in government.
Never, ever before has there been SO many Access, training, Vtos, BTEI, Return to work, learning- you name it, initiatives. .if somebody is able to work but now unemployed, it should be mandatory that they are in some Training/Upskilling course whilst receiving Social Welfare. We are fast becoming a nation of ‘ entitlers’ whereby we expect SO much for free but dont ask us for anything in return. Its v obvious- and visible, esp in Summertime when one wants certain jobs done- that there are Many people on SW and yet ABLE to do jobs on the side (with accompanying Cash payments..) . Too many excuses.
@Margate: We are entitled to free housing, social welfare, education and healthcare but we don’t want to work for it…. this BS has to stop
@Margate: they get their payments reduced if they don’t take part in training and are not seeking work. Plus they are made to work up to 30 hours per week in various schemes until they find employment. It’s not a free ride anymore.
@Margate: where do you work?
@Tatjana Kytmannow: what about you, where do you work?
@marian: I work, and damn hard for sure. Whats with ” Where do you work” ??? Why?? And yourself? Never ask a personal question that you wouldn’t be willing to answer yourself..
@Margate: you are the one who posts idiotic comments here not me!
Unless you are physically unable to work, there is pretty much limited or no excuse not be working these days, especially under that age. Lazy a-holes who seem to think the SW is some sort of a career these days. Get up off your holes and pay your own way – that includes thinking you are “entitled” to a home also. Stop expecting hand-outs! Time for a radical overhaul of the SW system
@SkylineSi: if you live in the sticks where there are literally 3 shops and 5 pubs, all which are owned by people who hire only their own children, you have to travel miles of rural road to get to the next town…. it can be quite hard. That’s why I’ve gone back to education.
Start popping out the babies, set for life, no need to ever work a day again
I heard of someone last week who is unemployed and a course came up he was really interested in, But he wasn’t eligible because he wasn’t unemployed long enough.. Make sense of that.
At least those who are under 26 now have much greater opportunities to find work than back in the 80’s and 90’s where your options were the boat to England or get to the USA and work illegally.
Online education and work is possible also.
Unless you’re incapable of working due to illness, disability or homelessness then there’s very little excuse.
@Dotty Dunleary: exactly.when I left school in the eighties there was nothing.one way ticket to London was the only option,and it was the best education I probably ever received as I arrived with about 100punts and a couple of phone numbers and it has stood to me since.
So the counties with the largest populations have the highest numbers of unemployed and the counties with the smallest populations have the lowest numbers. Who would have thought it?
@Earth Traveller: That would rather suggest that it’s the natural percentage of people unable to work… if it was social or educational reasons, different areas would have different proportions
Longford is getting over 1000 jobs with the new center parcs development. The county has 4,000 unemployed.
Can we expect that the unemployment numbers for Longford will be down to 3,000 next year?
@John Mulligan: Doubt it, you will see a population increase of about 500 – 600 though
This is also the age group struggling the most with depression and having to endure the most difficult working conditions. It’s sad to see such animosity towards those young people who are finding it difficult to get a start in life, the stick approach to cutting off payments is more likely to lead to a very dark place than it is to rolling up the sleeves and magically turning into a productive member of society as some seem to think.
@Rochelle: your softly softly approach was tested for years and it does not work.nothing better than reducing their ‘entitlements’ to focus minds.
@John: You want to play sink or swim with the age demographic with the highest rate of suicide in the country? I don’t think you’ll find many swimmers.
Is this 8k including all the so “employed” people on schemes? Unemployment is still very high, they just jig the numbers to suit their agenda.
I’d say it’s a lot more than 8k, official gov figures and all that!
Have a 10% reduction in benefits each week…
it should be onely for 3 years after that should cover rent paid to council or landlord no cash same utilities and card by food onely
There are plenty of jobs out there problem is most are part time or temporary contracts with young people earning same as those on dole but without any assistance ie housing, medical cards etc
And there it goes again. Fyi, all the people saying that it is a lifestyle choice; these people came of working age in the depth of the recession. They will be made to do training or find employment, or they are getting their payments reduced.
Doesn’t matter how much money you throw at this issue, there’s always been this section of society you are basically not only unemployed, but actually unemployable. You could start up a new training program for them but whats the point ? Throwing good money after bad. It was the same during the so-called boom years, the years of ‘full employment’. We still had an unemployment rate that never fell below 4%.
@Tommy Roche: it is probably safe to say most of these longterm unemployed youths are likely suffering from addiction issues too. Who wants to hire an heroin addict that will most likely miss work, or steal from work because of their addiction?
Foot up the Aras
How many of these have since participated in the YESS scheme?
Actually how many youths under 26 yrs are on activation schemes.When people on activation schemes are included in unemployment figures ,it adds 3% to unemployment rate.(CSO)
Our government is taking from the pockets of those who are prepared to work and giving the proceeds to those who couldn’t be bothered. That’s not sustainable or right.
Cut their dole to 30euro a week and then watch them pull their fingers out and get work. There is absolutely no excuse not to work.
The government needs to make it less appealing to stay at home. I’m part of the squeezed middle who pay for it.
Some people in this country on the dole live better than people like me working a 48hr week. Sick of it is an understatement. Lazy bees. Exceptions of course for people with disabilities and illnesses. But having a rake of kids is not an illness.
I once lived in a inner city suburb where the majority of these young people come from. Its heartbreaking to see these young people waste on the dole with the girls having babies and boys selling drugs (part time). How can people drown in a country with a thousand opportunities for anyone to excel??? Why are people coming from thousands of kilometers with no qualification and no English yet they find an economic space to meaningfully exist in while someone born and bred here drown in the midst of plenty???What is responsible for people in their 20′s almost giving up in life????
have your say