GARDAÍ HAVE arrested a number of people present at a lockdown protest in Dublin connected with a beauty salon which has reopened during Level 5 restrictions.
Last week, when Taoiseach Micheál Martin indicated that Ireland would remain under severe restrictions until at least mid-April due to the continued threat of Covid-19, one Dublin business vowed to reopen.
C & N Beauty Rooms in Balbriggan, County Dublin, opened its doors yesterday while Ireland remained under Level 5 restrictions, with owner Christine Tiernan telling Newstalk she was doing so "to put food on the table ... to pay my rent."
The business was open for only a few hours when it was shut down by Gardaí, and the owner was hit with fines for breaching Covid-19 legislation.
Ms Tierney's daughter set up a GoFundMe to help pay her mother's fines, and said "please remember Christine wasn’t opening the salon for greed or selfishness but for survival only".
Today, the C & N Beauty Rooms opened its doors again, with Ms Tierney placing a sign on the window stating it is her 'constitutional right' to make a living and provide for her family, Dublin Live reports.
A Garda spokesperson has now confirmed that a man and a woman aged in her 40s was arrested in Balbriggan this morning for breaching Covid-19 measures.
It is understood a number of people gathered in Balbriggan to protest the lockdown and Covid-19 restrictions, with DublinLive reporting that seven people in total have been arrested in relation to this demonstration, with six people being handed Fix Penalty notices and one other man charged with breaching restrictions.
As many as 20 Garda officers are believed to have been present at the beauty salon and surrounding areas today.
The woman who was arrested this morning has been charged and will appear in Swords District Court later today, a garda spokesperson has said.
Her arrest comes after another business owner, celebrity chef Paul Treyvaud, vowed to reopen his Killarney restaurant on 1 July, saying he would give the Government four months notice to "sort everything out".
He added that he was willing to be arrested when he reopened as it was his only choice: his
"I’m not a conspiracy nut job so don’t bother telling me to open up now," he warned followers, but said "I’ve done the maths and if I’m not open by then, everything is gone."
"I’ve no intention of losing everything I’ve worked my life for because these idiots can’t close airports, ports or agree on boarders (sic)."
