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The Health Minister has said that temporary measures requiring restaurants and pubs serving food to keep records of all food orders for 28 days are aimed at pubs that are “breaking” the rules on serving food with alcohol orders. .
Speaking on RTÉ’s News at One, Stephen Donnelly said the measures have been introduced as a mechanism to enforce public health guidelines.
He said the only place it will be used is in pubs that don’t serve food and are breaking the rules.
He said that means these pubs can be asked to provide receipts to show that they are serving food if there is any question as to whether they are.
Minister Donnelly said the vast majority of pubs are complying with public health guidelines that stipulate that a substantial meal with alcohol must be ordered, and said restaurants already print and save receipts so they don’t have an additional burden on they.
He said there would not be a situation where restaurants are asked to provide receipts to show that they are serving substantial meals, as that is what restaurants do.
Regarding the request for people’s names and phone numbers, the minister said that this had been in place for some time and had to do with contact tracing to keep both clients and staff safe.
He said the measures are only temporary and will only be in effect until pubs that don’t serve food can reopen.
Pubs can open if they serve “substantial” meals costing no less than € 9.
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Regarding whether the new measures could have been better communicated, the minister said that we are in unprecedented times, which means having to work on the legislation in a matter of days instead of months.
He said that there is always room to improve communications, but said that he did not agree with the criticism from opposition parties or fellow party members on the issue. He said the measures are meant to keep people safe.
Earlier, the CEO of the Irish Restaurant Association, Adrian Cummins, said the measures “came out of nowhere” and without any communication or consultation with the industry.
Speaking on RTÉ’s Morning Ireland, Cummins said that despite some clarification from Government Information Services last night, the matter is an additional regulatory burden for business owners at a time when they fear losing their business.
He said the association will continue to ask its members to adhere to public health councils “in the best interest of Ireland and customers” and get the business back up and running.
He said the industry also needs more financial assistance “to keep our businesses open for the future.”
The Vintners Federation of Ireland (VFI), which represents rural publicans, said that the temporary rule, contained in a legal instrument presented yesterday, is “the bureaucracy crazed.”
The legal instrument also includes the extension of the closing hours of the pubs until 11:30 p.m.
Labor leader Alan Kelly said the move is “completely insane” and should be reversed.
Speaking about the same program, he said: “I am concerned that this cabinet is thinking ahead and we need a government that maintains public trust.”
He said the move has made him wonder “when was food consumption linked to public health measures?”
Gardaí / HSE can view your food / drink records for 28 days under these new regulations from Minister of Health Stephen Donnelly: pic.twitter.com/2XY6KYO82U
– Fergal Bowers (@FergalBowers) September 3, 2020
Fianna Fáil TD Éamon Ó Cuív said that trying to “create security through more bureaucracy” is not the way to go and that the government needs to “instill in the people what it has to do for their own personal safety” and those around them.
Ó Cuív said that there is a very small minority of owners and clients who have abused the regulations and put society at risk.
He said that gardaí can’t keep an eye on all bars and restaurants and that people should decide for themselves what is safe and only go to places that follow the guidelines.
The Sinn Féin health spokesperson called the move “insane … cookies … and one step too far.”
David Cullinane said Health Minister Stephen Donnelly would be better off coming up with a plan on how to deliver cancer services, rather than confusing both publicans and their clients.
The Irish Civil Liberties Council has said that aspects of the new measure “appear to be illegal”.
Professor Elizabeth Farries, ICCL’s Director of Information Rights, said the Data Protection Commissioner should have been among those consulted prior to the announcement of the measure.
Professor Farries said that it is “completely invasive” to allow gardaí to collect details of people’s personal activities in case someone might do something illegal.
In a statement, the Data Protection Commissioner’s Office said that “it is not the business of the Data Protection Commission to decide or comment on government policy. It is the function of the DPC to monitor compliance with the data protection law and , in this case, the legal basis is sufficient “.
The general manager of the Doolin Hotel in Co Clare described the new measures as “complete nonsense” and like living in a “Kafkaesque state”.
Speaking on RTÉ’s Today with Claire Byrne, Donal Minihane said that the government appears to be obsessed with the hotel industry as if it were the root cause of Covid-19.
He said that there has been utter confusion over the government messages and that different government departments have issued conflicting advice regarding the above guidelines.
Minihane said she learned of the new guidelines through Facebook and that there were no inquiries, no communication, or prior notification for hoteliers, restaurants and bar owners.
He said Gardaí checks the contact tracing book at his hotel every night and the verification guidelines are followed.
Fine Gael Senator Regina Doherty said “it is not surprising that there is an uproar” over the new measures and acknowledged that the government has not communicated the message well.
“I think the first thing we have to do is recognize the lack of consultation with the industries that are involved and correct that immediately. I think the RAI and our entire Vintners Association should be incorporated and communicated about the changes in the regulations.
However, he said measures are being introduced to ensure that available information is there for gardaí to ensure compliance with public health guidelines.
“This is not about eating steak or chips, but about environments being controlled and safe for people.”
He said many stories have been shared about a receipt for a pizza that is shared between four or five people or that bowls of curry chips are placed in the middle of tables where pints and gin and tonics are served.
On the same show, Monaghan’s GP, Dr. Illona Duffy, said that if there is a problem here with this message, it will translate into all other areas and people will not accept the government’s message.
She said that now is when we are starting to see an increase in Covid-19 cases and people are letting their guard down.
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