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What are the new rules for restaurants and pubs?
This week another rule was added to the ever-growing list of regulations for pubs and restaurants during the Covid-19 pandemic. They must now keep records of the food they serve customers for 28 days and make them available to gardaí when requested.
Under Statutory Instrument 326, businesses must “make a record of the substantial meal or meals ordered … for each member of a group of persons and each person who is permitted, or granted, access to the installations …”
This stems from regulations introduced in mid-August that require a limit of six people per table, the provision of hand sanitizer stations around the premises, and the use of masks by customers when they are not seated.
What is the logic behind the new rule?
With no end in sight to the pandemic, there is concern among health officials that people are becoming increasingly fatigued with restrictions around socializing, particularly the mandatory € 9 meal that must be ordered with alcohol. Although gardaí says that compliance is still high, in the last month it has detected 74 pubs in breach of the regulations.
Regular inspections of pubs across the country by the gardaí continue, but require a lot of resources. Officials believe that forcing pubs to keep records of receipts will encourage compliance with the rules and make it easier for gardaí to catch violators. Health Minister Stephen Donnelly has said the measures are designed to make pubs “circumvent” existing rules.
How will the new rules affect me?
They probably won’t, unless you own a pub or restaurant. The rules are designed to enforce compliance at the company, not the customer.
“The Government does not care if you had a cup of coffee or a dessert, or if you went for the banoffee or, as a tavern keeper asked me last night, if you went for the garlic sauce or the pepper sauce”, Minister of Additional Education and superior, said Simon Harris.
“What it’s about is basically a bit of common sense that prevails here, the reality is that, as of today, the law is that it can only be opened if food is also served.”
Of course, the new rule could make your local pub more insistent on ordering that € 9 toast along with your pint. On the positive side, another part of the legal instrument extends the pub’s opening hours until 11:30 p.m.
What does the hotel industry say?
He is generally unhappy. The Licensed Vintners Association (LVA) said the measures would create an additional workload. However, Adrian Cummings, CEO of the Irish Restaurant Association, felt less aggrieved. He said the requirements seem “feasible” but more information was needed, adding that his main problem was the lack of prior consultation.
What has been the political reaction?
Fianna Fáil’s TD Marc MacSharry hit what he described as the “Stasi” guidelines. He was joined by Fianna Fáil’s Minister Anne Rabbitte, calling them “one step too far.”
Labor leader Alan Kelly also didn’t hold back, calling the rules “totally and utterly crazy.” The new law was simply “too draconian,” he said.
Kelly said the government had “stepped out of reserve” and that they will face public backlash. Several politicians, together with the LVA, have asked the Data Protection Commissioner (DPC) to urgently review the matter.
Other government politicians, including Donnelly, have argued that most restaurants and pubs would collect this data anyway and that it would not pose a large administrative burden.
What does the DPC say?
The DPC does not seem overly concerned about the measures. The contact details of the diners are already registered according to the regulations introduced in early summer. The only change now was that meals ordered by the dining room would also be logged, Deputy Commissioner Graham Doyle said.
“The interference with fundamental rights in this case is not significant and the data collected and the purpose of its collection (to ensure compliance with the regulation by pubs / restaurants) means that it is unlikely to generate significant risks to rights of a person, ”he added.
“When the interference with fundamental rights is not serious, the justification for the processing of personal data does not have to be important. In this case, the Government’s stated objective of enforcing regulations through inspections of An Garda Síochána in the context of the pandemic is sufficient justification for the level of interference that arises ”.
Mr. Doyle said that it was not the DPC’s job to decide on government policy, only to monitor compliance with data protection law. “And, in this case, the legal basis is sufficient.”
How will the regulations be enforced?
The new rules are defined as “criminal provisions,” meaning that restaurant and pub owners found to be in breach could face a criminal penalty, including up to six months in prison and a maximum fine of 2,500 euros. However, the gardaí base has yet to receive instructions on how the regulations should be enforced.
Already, at least one company has said that it will not comply with the law. The Doolin Hotel in Co Clare said on social media that it would not record what its customers ate as “we have enough to do to keep our business open and keep everyone safe without following nonsensical laws.”
Anything else to highlight in the new regulations?
Unsurprisingly, the law limits the number of people at an indoor “cultural or entertainment” event to 50 people and spells out criminal penalties for organizers who violate this rule.
But it also contains the following provision: “A person shall take all reasonable steps to ensure that he or she does not attend an event in a relevant place where the number of people attending the relevant place (for whatever reason) exceeds 50 people “.
This means that, for the first time since the start of the pandemic, there is a legal obligation for people not to attend events hosting more than 50 people.
In other words, if you walk into a movie theater or theater and see that all seats are taken, you have a legal obligation to go out again.
However, this section is not a criminal provision, which means that it is unclear what penalties, if any, a guest could face for attending such an event.
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