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Mary Lou criticizes Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil for the ‘clothes’ fiasco
By Paul Moore
With numerous supermarkets and shops in Ireland restricting the items they are allowed to sell due to Level 5 restrictions, the decision to force the closure of all non-essential outlets and shops has received criticism.
Currently, only stores that sell essential items, such as food and medicine, can remain open.
As for non-essential retailers (home goods stores, clothing stores, toy stores, etc.), they can only remain open if they offer online delivery or “click / call and collect” services.
However, if a retailer offers a mix of essential and non-essential products for sale, the company must “make separation arrangements” for the non-essential section.
This explains why some supermarkets have cordoned off certain sections of their stores and during a recent interview with RTÉ, Tanaiste Leo Varadkar was clear about this.
“[Retailers] you must comply with the regulations and you must comply with the spirit of the regulations. If you are a mixed retailer, you should separate your stocks and sell only the items that are essential.
“If you are a supermarket or a large store that has groceries and clothes, you should separate the clothes and not sell them.
“Work clothes are fine, but general clothes [is] no. We have been in contact with the Gardai and that will be enforced. Yes [shops] They are selling PPE, that’s one thing.
“But if they are trying to use PPE to sell other products, that is something very different. If you sell essential products, that’s one thing.
“If you are trying to use essential products as a means of opening your store to sell non-essential products, you are not okay. This is not legal and we are going to initiate legal action, ”said Minister Varadkar.
Since the new Tier 5 rules were introduced, several retailers have recalled clothing items from their stores, but Sinn Féin leader Mary Lou McDonald has criticized the government’s decision not to define clothing as an essential item in stores. Level 5 regulations.
“Clothes are essential. Common sense is also essential, although rare in the FF / FG government, ”he said on Twitter.
The issue was recently debated in prime time, where the Minister of State for the Department of Enterprise, Damien English, confirmed that clothing is “not essential” for purchases during COVID-19 level 5 restrictions.
Minister English acknowledged that even though there is a list of essential and non-essential retailers during Level 5, it is difficult for a mixed retail outlet that “is a bit of both”, but noted that the rules “were not confusing. “and they were clear.
“Clothes are not essential. But again, of course, in all situations, there is a bit of common sense. The Gardaí is reinforcing the public health message, it is helping us do our job, it is engaging with the retail sector, encouraging them to do the right thing. To be fair, I acknowledge that the retail sector is doing [its] it is better to do it right and if changes are needed, changes will be made. “said the English Minister to receive Miriam O’Callaghan.
At this point, O’Callaghan pointed out the oddity to Minister English that people can buy wine in a supermarket but not socks for their children, to which he replied, “Socks come under Miriam’s clothes.”
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