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The Minister of State for Employment Affairs and Retail Business, Damien English, has said that the government will announce the details at the end of next week for the lifting of the Level 5 restrictions and the reopening of the retail sector.
English told RTÉ radio’s News at One that the plans will be announced when appropriate after the National Public Health Emergency Team (Nphet) and other experts have had time to analyze data from the first four weeks of Level restrictions. 5.
The government had been engaged with the retail sector throughout the shutdown and recognized the difficulties it faced, he said. The cabinet was intended to be in a position to make an announcement by the end of next week, the minister said.
Longer opening hours would be considered to ease demand, but it wouldn’t be the same as other Christmases, he warned.
There was a lot of work involved in planning to ease restrictions, and Mr. English said the Government understands the difficulties faced by businesses and the public. “Of course the plans are to open as soon as we can.”
Once Nphet has reviewed and analyzed the figures, he will meet next week with the Cabinet to discuss the details and the government could then make “the right decision” on how to reopen the country safely, English said.
Plans would be put in place, and the Minister said it was “the full intention” for the retail sector to reopen on December 1. “We have always said that when the figures allowed, we would reopen.”
Mr. English rejected Ibec’s claim that Nphet was “flying a kite.”
“The government makes decisions, advises Nphet,” he said.
The minister said he recognized the efforts made by citizens and that the best way to handle the virus was “pushing it back.”
The virus spread in many settings, he said, and Level 5 restrictions had been necessary to stop social contacts and stop the spread of the virus.
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