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LAST UPDATE | 31 Aug 2021
TAOISEACH MICHEÁL MARTIN has announced the plan for the final easing of Covid-19 restrictions.
“The evidence is clear and incontrovertible – your effort and your sacrifice has saved lives,” Martin said in a speech this evening.
He added: “Because of the effort of our vaccination team and because you have stepped up to the mark and taken the vaccine when it was offered, we are now entering a whole new phase of the pandemic.”
The Taoiseach addressed the nation this evening after the Cabinet signed off on the plan for the final easing of Covid-19 restrictions.
Martin said the “time is now right to begin to move from regulation and widespread restrictions on people’s personal freedom to an approach primarily defined by public health advice, personal judgement and responsibility”.
However, he did warn that “if a new dangerous variant of concern emerges or if our hospitals come under unsustainable pressure again, we will move quickly to respond to the situation”.
The Taoiseach said the country was taking an important and welcome step forward, noting that over generations the Irish people had borne many ordeals.
“Over last 18 months we have drawn on all of that and endured,” he said.
The country would push on and in the coming months would embark on a winter vaccine booster programme, Martin said. The State would also continue to help making vaccines available to people all over world, he added.
The focus, he concluded, would be on rebuilding the economy and society – and those aims would be approached with “renewed energy and determination”.
6 September and 20 September are two of the key dates in the phased easing of restrictions.
Masks will still be expected to be worn in some settings, such as on public transport, retail and healthcare settings.
Public transport will tomorrow return to full capacity.
6 September
Live indoor music will be permitted having regard to appropriate protective factors, including at weddings, from Monday 6 September.
There will be no change to the current limit of 100 guests at weddings during September.
From that date, live events will be allowed to take place with 60% of an indoor venue’s capacity permitted where all patrons are immune (fully vaccinated people and those recovered from Covid-19 within the previous six months) and 75% of outdoor capacity where all attendees are immune.
From 6 September, all religious ceremonies will be allowed to proceed with 50% of venue capacity, regardless of immunity status of attendees.
20 September
From 20 September, organised indoor group activities (such as sports, arts and dance classes) can take place for up to 100 people where all attendees are immune or accompanied minors.
Where attendees have mixed immunity status, pods of up to six participants will be permitted.
Restrictions on outdoor group activities will be removed.
Attendance at work for specific business requirements may commence on a phased and staggered attendance basis from 20 September.
October
October is set to see the majority of restrictions lifted and replaced by guidance and advice based on personal judgement and responsibility.
From 22 October, final restrictions will be lifted including:
Measures that will remain in place include self-isolation when people have symptoms and mask wearing in healthcare settings, indoor retail and on public transport.
Addressing the nation this evening, the Taoiseach said he has “never believed that there would be a day when we were just able to announce that the pandemic was ‘over’”.
“This would be entirely the wrong message to send and it would undermine our ability to respond properly to new developments,” Martin said.
“We are very unlikely to ever be able to be rid of the virus completely. Indeed, we expect to see an increase in case numbers over the coming weeks,” he said.
“But the combined strategy of careful reopening and energetic vaccination has brought us to a point where we can begin to do things differently.”
NPHET scaled back
Meanwhile, the National Public Health Emergency Team (NPHET) is expected to be scaled back from 22 October.
NPHET and its sub-groups will move out of the ‘emergency phase’ of the pandemic in a planned move lead by Chief Medical Officer Dr Tony Holohan.
Public health experts will still be available to advise Government but it is expected a smaller team lead by the Department of Health will be put in place.
Individual members of NPHET will revert to their original posts and duties with press briefings unlikely to take place after October.
Additional reporting by Christina Finn, Orla Dwyer & Cónal Thomas
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Treating it as a health matter, not a criminal one, is the only way forward.
@Joe Phillips: WARNING THIS COMMENT SECTION IS UNDER SURVEILLANCE!!! ALL ANTI WAR-ON- DRUGS AND GENERAL BACON RELATED CONTENT WILL BE DELETED!!! LEGALISATION IS THE SOLUTION!!!
Seriously, grow up. Treating all drugs as though they are heroin has us where we are today: people buying cannabis from dodgy dealers in dangerous narcotics.
Cannabis is generally less harmful than alcohol. Allow it to be bought in main street shops and keep educated and wiser youth away from the sellers of deathly poisons….
@Kieran Magennis: very true. The argument that drugs must be pursued relentlessly because they are a health concern is a circular argument as most of the health issues are associated with the fact that drugs are illegal. Does anyone seriously believe that nearly one person a day would be dying from drug poisoning if drugs were legal. It is the fact they are illegal that creates by far the biggest threat to those that consume them. Make alcohol illegal and how many people would be going blind and dying from poisoning. Not a single country in the world regardless of harsh sanctions has eradicated drug use. This should be an indicator as to the total failure of the current policy. Time for change.
Why is it a criminal offense to alter your state of mind in the first place?
I mean when someone cheats on their spouse this creates tremendous psychological trauma for the whole family especially the kids – totally legal, no one makes a fuss.
Someone drops some acid with some friends while watching a sunrise – lock him up and throw away the keys.
I think there is something fundamentally wrong with the way our society thinks.
@Termaz Fx: Well said
@Termaz Fx: spot on. We have a societal fear of people getting off their heads on anything other than alcohol.
That is where a lot of the hysteria surrounding drugs and drug policy comes from.
@john doe: Stupid parallel…we know what’s in the Alcohol , we often dont know whats in the stuff we buy from some random street dealer- all kinds of mind & body destroying muck. Oh, AND many of us in society DO CARE when someone- usually a young person- ” is off his/her head” for whatever reason.
@Margate: no Margate you misunderstand.
The harms of the unknown substances are one thing (which would be minimised by legalisation) What myself and the poster above are discussing is the commonly held viewpoint that being high is somehow morally wrong.
If it is not bad for your health when done correctly, such as with a lot of psychedelic drugs, there is nothing actually bad or immoral about getting extremely high. But society in general seems to judge it as wrong…
For example, there are lots of activities which are considerably more harmful to the ones doing them and public in general than most illegal drugs, like motor racing or rock climbing, but because the practitioner does not get high from it nobody judges it as morally wrong.
@Termaz Fx: You hit the nail on the head.
Decriminalisation will never happen here, too many TD’s stuck in the 1950’s, but sure it’s grand to drink yourself into oblivion as don’t I have s couple of pubs me self.
@Brian Smith: the lads in kerry should be allowed drink and drive too. They all want to
@Brian Smith: Too many TDs are publicans. Drug use probably cuts into their margins. They’re also clueless old men largely playing to the people who go out and vote (old people)
Complete BS from our Garda again. Fake numbers from a bunch of fakes.
To really reduce the harms from drugs we need to go past decriminalisation to heavy regulation/ legalisation. This coupled with sensible education is the safest way to deal with all drugs consumed recreationally.
@john doe: hence it won’t happen here til all the FFG voters die off
Why was my comment about saying fook all to the cops bar giving your name and address until your brief arrives deleted ? That’s advise ANY solicitor in the country would give…
@John Ryan: ridiculous that that was taken down
@John Ryan: mine too… i smell bacon.
First they were deleting far right comments. Everyone was happy because they weren’t far right.
Then they started deleting comments concerned about un-vetted immigration. Everyone was happy because they didn’t want to be called racists.
Now they started deleting comments with genuine legal advise with zero hate speech.
History is doomed to repeat itself.
have your say