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Music events and concerts may be allowed to take place if alcohol is not served on the premises as part of the new proposals the Government is considering.
Arts Minister Catherine Martin and Health Minister Stephen Donnelly will meet with arts activists on Monday to examine which facilities and events can be reopened within the Covid-19 public health guidelines.
Political sources have said that Ms. Martin is willing to increase audience and artist levels at events beyond current restrictions and will examine whether banning alcohol at such events could facilitate their celebration. The Minister intends to review both indoor and outdoor events as part of this process.
This would mean that concerts can get the green light to continue potentially without alcohol sales and possibly with higher attendance figures.
Under current government guidelines, only businesses or services such as museums, cinemas, theaters, and art galleries can allow a maximum of 50 people to gather indoors because they are considered “controlled environments.” Currently, all other indoor cultural events are subject to the six-person maximum rule.
“I hope it will help everyone develop a better understanding of how we can move forward and strike a proper balance between protecting our public health in an effort to ensure that events in greater numbers than the current restrictions on and off can take place whenever possible, “Ms Martin said.
New powers
Meanwhile, the government will publish new legislation on Monday detailing the new powers that will be granted to the gardaí to crack down on restaurant and bar owners who do not comply with public health guidelines.
A draft of the legislation seen by The Irish Times states that bar and restaurant owners who reopen their facilities during the period of a closure order could face a € 5,000 fine and a year in jail if convicted.
The legislation also states that when gardaí has obtained a temporary or emergency closure order, the licensee must post a notice outside the building. Anyone who fails to do so will be fined € 2,500.
These measures are in addition to the new powers that are being introduced to allow gardaí to close a store for one day, seven days and 30 days depending on the level of non-compliance. The legislation is due to come before the Dáil this week.
However, when the Dáil business committee met last Friday, opposition politicians expressed concern that the government was trying to push for new powers through the Oireachtas too quickly. Co-leader of the Social Democrats, Catherine Murphy, told the meeting that the Dáil was rushing the legislation and that this could result in politicians being “caught” by unintentional mistakes.
Regarding any new legislation that is being introduced, Garda Sergeants and Inspectors Association director Antoinette Cunningham urged the government on Sunday to think about the practicalities of how it could be applied. She told RTÉ that applying existing guidelines related to € 9 meals served with alcohol in pubs “was not practical.”
On Sunday, the Health Department confirmed another 42 cases of Covid-19. There were no new deaths for the eighth consecutive day. Fifteen cases were confirmed to be associated with outbreaks or close contacts of a confirmed case, and six were identified as community transmission. In terms of geographical distribution, 24 of the cases are in Dublin, six in Limerick and the remaining 12 are in Carlow, Clare, Galway, Kildare, Longford, Offaly and Sligo.
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