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INDOOR HOSPITALITY IS likely to reopen on a date between 19 and 26 July, Tanáiste Leo Varadkar has said.
Monday 19 July will be the earliest possible date, while Monday 26 July will be the latest, he said outside the count centre at the RDS today.
“The 19th would be a target that we will try to reach, [it] will be hard to reach, I think we can do it before 26th,” he said, adding that the sector is eager to open up as soon as possible.
A proposal is to be brought to Cabinet on Tuesday which is expected to outline how to open indoor dining within NPHET’s guidance. In practice, this will mean limiting indoor dining to those who are fully vaccinated.
It is understood that the EU Digital Green Certificate will be used as an indoor dining pass, and although this allows people who have a negative PCR test result to travel around the EU, only fully vaccinated people with the pass will be permitted to dine indoors in Ireland.
Primary legislation is needed to make this legal, and will need to be rushed through the Dáil and Seanad, before being signed by the President, before it can come into effect.
Although there is a lot of disquiet among Government TDs over the proposed new laws, it is expected that a vote on the legislation would be passed if industry representatives back the Government’s plan.
The Irish Council for Civil Liberties (ICCL) is strongly opposed to the proposal, raising concerns that it would “run roughshod” over equality, data protection and privacy law.
“We are extremely concerned at the precedent that would be set if government goes ahead with this plan,” it said in a statement today.
ICCL Executive Director Liam Herrick said: “We cannot set a precedent whereby government can declare that problems with its own re-opening timetable constitute an emergency, which would justify ignoring serious and complex issues of workers’ rights, equality law, privacy, and data protection. Human rights law is there to protect us all. We cannot dispense with it when faced with political dilemmas.”
ICCL has opposed the idea of vaccine passports since they were first mooted in early 2021 on the basis of discrimination and data protection concerns.
With reporting from Christina Finn.
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I work with Caroline and how she has conducted herself through these terrible events is very admirable. Her and her family’s determination to get justice despite their grief and the awful circumstances of Michael’s death shows such strength of character. I hope they uncover the whole truth. RIP Michael Dwyer.
can’t argue with any of this, and i feel very sorry for her and the family. but this article does nothing to address what he was doing in bolivia. recession doesn’t lead to many people seeking their fortune in latin america with right wing europeans. my guess is (and yes it’s a guess), he was bored with ireland, and was drawn in by a charismatic person with ideas of revolution and adventure and the like. won’t be the first or last to do this, and not always a bad thing necessarily. think of irish poeple who fought in spanish civil war. and by the way, whatever the circumstances of him being there, it bears all the hall-marks of extra-judicial killing.
Bolivia of all places to go..
Australia, America or Canada would probably have being safer…
Hopefully the truth will come out,
But it’s very doubtful it will….
ODwyer was murdered by the Bolivian government in an attempt to undermine rebels seeking independence in that region of Bolivia. They tried to make it look like he was an IRA mercenary along with others from the former russian block and eastern europe to justify their actions in the region.
Many know of his story of security courses that fell through in Europe and the US and for some reason he ended up doing some form of training in Bolivia..but he is an innocent man an he was murdered!
My condolences to Michael’s family. I heard his parents speak on radio one morning a few years back and they struck me as very reasoned, decent people who just wanted to find out what happened to their beloved son. I wish the armchair detectives would just zip it and let them get on with their heartbreaking quest. I cannot imagine their pain and the loss they face every day. I can only wish them strength and success and hope that they find the truth. There but for the grace of god…
Wasn’t he part of a group out to murder the Bolivian president? Good job their plans were foiled.
Dave, there is no proof of that at all .
Did he have any connection with the dodgy mercenary “commander” in Louth? Well covered in the Pheonix.
Greg I worked with Caroline too and I have no doubt others reading this may have a personal connection with Caroline or some other family members. Please show some respect. Those who don’t know the fact please stop assuming that you do.
But the family don’t know the facts either, nor do any of the people who support the idea that he was innocent.
I agree people shouldn’t so easily make assumptions, but that goes for both sides!
Did this guy do any ‘Bodyguard’ courses? Any ‘Close Protection’ courses? Or ‘Hostile Environment Awareness Training’ courses or the like? The ones that say learn to be a bodyguard in a weekend, 4 days, etc.
If so chances are is that he duped into a ‘job’ abroad. Unfortunately it has happened many times.
My condolences to his family.
I knew this guy in college in Galway. He was very mannerly . He worked in halo nightclub doing security and in Dunnes in the deli for a short period . He was very pleasant and friendly .
I’ve spent time in Bolivia and it can be difficult just to get the simplest of things done. Can’t imagine what this family have had to go through.
Did he have any connection with the dodgy “mercenary commander” in Louth. Well documented in the Pheonix magazine.
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