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Pubs serving drinks only have yet to reopen in Northern Ireland
Stormont’s executive ministers are meeting to discuss the impact of Covid-19 on pubs and a delay in driving tests.
Calls for an extension of the government’s licensing plan are also expected to be on the agenda.
The Prime Minister and Deputy Prime Ministers will also meet Cabinet Office Minister Michael Gove and the Scottish and Welsh Prime Ministers later.
The online meeting will see the latest news on the Brexit negotiations.
The Stormont executive has delayed the reopening of some 600 pubs, which only serve drinks.
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The 600 venues are believed to account for about a third of the pub sector in Northern Ireland.
Executive ministers dropped an earlier indicative date of September 1 to reopen so-called “wet bars” and have not agreed on an alternative schedule.
Ministers will debate what kind of financial support could be provided to wet bars if they remain closed and whether a stricter enforcement regime should be introduced.
BBC News NI understands that Health Minister Robin Swann had written to his fellow executives to request an update at Thursday’s meeting on whether a specific support package could be provided to pubs only for drinks that have not yet been able to open. .
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One argument from the hotel industry is that tightening restrictions and cracking down on establishments that flout regulations could allow more rule-compliant pubs to open.
Finance Minister Conor Murphy is expected to seek the executive’s support in asking the UK Treasury to extend its work-leave plan beyond October, something the prime minister has ruled out.
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Driving tests were suspended at NI on March 20 due to the coronavirus pandemic
DUP ministers are also likely to raise their concerns at the executive meeting about supporting the local taxi and coach industries and the backlog of driving tests.
The plight of beginning drivers who won’t be able to test until next year will be raised at an emergency meeting of the Stormont Infrastructure Committee.
CURRENT EXPLANATORS
DUP MLA Keith Buchanan, a member of the assembly’s infrastructure committee, questioned why the driving lessons have been resumed, but there is no date yet for the resumption of testing.
Speaking on the BBC’s Good Morning Ulster program, he said it would be a challenge to “eliminate the delays.”
“Those people are waiting and they can’t get a test date yet, so those people are in line and now they are waiting,” Buchanan added.
During the executive meeting, Health Minister Robin Swann is expected to update his colleagues on the latest estimates of Northern Ireland’s R-number, which indicates the level of transmission of the coronavirus locally.
The ministers will also receive information from the education minister on the recent reopening of schools.
