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Tánaiste Leo Varadkar said the border crossing between the Republic and Northern Ireland may not be warned even when travel restrictions are lifted at the end of December, sources said at the Fine Gael parliamentary party meeting.
Varadkar expressed his concern during the private meeting on the prevalence of Covid-19 in Northern Ireland, where the number of cases has remained stubbornly high although it has declined over the last week.
Sources say he told TDs and senators that travelers across the border may not be warned whenever possible. He said the matter would be considered by the government.
He said it was inevitable that cases would increase after the restrictions were lifted in December.
Mr. Varadkar said that “the way to infantilize people is not to tell them the truth,” adding that the virus spreads when people meet.
However, he also told the meeting that 2021 was a year to wait because people could enjoy personal freedoms that they may have taken for granted beforehand.
Varadkar said the Level 3 restrictions to be announced later in the week will resemble those in effect during the summer.
Meanwhile, several senior technical directors at Fine Gael asked Mr. Varadkar to push for the reopening of pubs and implement a reservation system for customers when Level 5 Covid-19 restrictions are eased starting next week.
Minister of State Patrick O’Donovan, John Paul Phelan and Joe Carey made the call at a party parliamentary meeting tonight.
O’Donovan called for a reservation system to be established for pubs and that groups only receive one session per night. On this basis, he said, pubs should be allowed to reopen.
Mr Phelan argued that all hospitality facilities, be they bars, hotels or restaurants, should be able to reopen on the same basis with the same Covid-19 regulations to be fair to all businesses, it is understood.
On the other hand, it is also understood that Mr. Varadkar said at the meeting that the Report of the Commission on Homes for Mothers and Babies will be published at Christmas.
The Fianna Fáil parliamentary party meeting, which also took place tonight, also heard calls for the reopening of pubs and hotels alongside other businesses.
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