Pubs and restaurants are ‘definitely not’ limited to take-out and Christmas deliveries

Pubs and restaurants will definitely not be limited to take-out at Christmas.

Government leaders have told the Irish Mirror that they are not following all of NPHET’s advice.

A member of the select committee of the most important members of the Government told the Mirror as he left the high-risk meeting: “It will not be NPHET, NPHET, NPHET.”

The Irish Mirror met with members of each of the three parties, Fianna Fáil, Fine Gael and the Greens, as they left government buildings just before 10pm, when the Cabinet Special Subcommittee on Covid was ending for the night.

The meeting took much longer than expected and was eventually called off, with the entire cabinet in attendance tomorrow to make the final decision.

But it was clear to the Mirror that the austere advice of NPHET’s medical hawks will not be taken entirely.

One of the main members of the government told the Mirror: “It was a long and exhausting meeting, four and a half hours, damn hell, and the Cabinet will decide in the last instance.”

When asked if pubs and restaurants would only be allowed to carry takeout in December, he said: “No, I can tell you that, no way.

“What I can say is that it’s not going to be NPHET, NPHET NPHET.”

Another member of the creaking committee agreed when the Mirror told him as he left the meeting at 9:40 pm tonight.

“The (Cabinet) meeting will decide, but we will consider more than NPHET.”