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A strict table service policy will be in place and counter service will be prohibited under the draft guidelines for reopening pubs that do not serve food.
The Government draft guidelines, which were drawn up in conjunction with Fáilte Ireland, have been distributed to groups of winegrowers this weekend.
In general, they are the same that have been brought for the pubs where food is served.
These include maintaining customer records for contact tracing purposes and time slots that are limited to 1 hour and 45 minutes where a physical distance of 1 meter can be maintained.
However, the 105 minute time intervals are not a requirement in which a physical distance of 2 meters can be “strictly maintained”.
Physical distancing is required between people from different households, but not between people from the same household.
While pubs serving food reopened earlier this summer, so-called wet pubs that don’t serve food have been closed since March.
The Government has started a consultation process with the winegrowers as efforts continue to try to find a way to allow them to reopen.
State Minister Thomas Byrne has said that with the right advice and guidelines, all pubs could reopen “in the next few weeks.”
He said it was the government’s clear determination to reopen pubs and that he wanted that to happen “within the month of September.”
While he said preparations are underway, he cautioned that any decision should be based on public health advice.
Read more: Latest coronavirus stories
According to the draft guidelines, all customers must leave the premises before 11:30 p.m., while customers must order from their seat during the visit.
Groups must be limited to a maximum of six people from no more than three households.
Publicans will be required to record the time and date of arrival of clients, and the name and telephone number of the lead person in the group for contact tracing purposes.
Employees working behind the bar must maintain a distance of 2 meters “as far as is reasonably possible”.
The guidelines also say that the straws should be individually wrapped and the decoration of glasses, such as with cocktail umbrellas, should be minimized.
Publicans are also advised to make arrangements for cleaning beer lines prior to reopening “as breweries or vendors may require a period of notice.”
The guidelines also say that when using smoking areas, customers must remain seated.
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