THE IRISH Government has reportedly agreed to open restaurants and gastropubs once lockdown is lifted next week.
This in spite of recommendations from the National Public Health Emergency Team (NPHET) to keep the hospitality sector more-or-less closed.
Final details of the country's lockdown exit plan will be announced this evening, but it's understood that the exact date of when restaurants and gastropubs will be allowed to open has yet to be agreed.
While eateries around the country will be open again, stricter rules on how many people can visit and how long they're allowed to stay are expected to be applied.
According to reports, NPHET effectively asked the Government to choose between opening up the hospitality sector, or allowing the public to gather with their families at Christmas. They chose the latter.
NPHET reportedly warned that if all pubs were allowed to open in December, then restrictions on household gatherings couldn't be eased for safety reasons.
With the Government refusing to budge on household gatherings, NPHET apparently recommended that pubs and restaurants only operate on a takeaway/delivery basis, but it's understood that Cabinet pushed back on this too to allow customers to be served indoors.
Cabinet sources argued that eating in restaurants and gastropubs were "controlled environments" and better than encouraging people to throw "big, mad house parties".
'Wet' pubs however aren't expected to reopen before Christmas, in what could prove a killer blow to many businesses around the country, who have been forced to keep their doors shut for almost the entirety of the last nine months.
