A publican has blasted the "selfish" unvaccinated as a spike of Covid cases has cast the final easement of restrictions in doubt.
The Government plans to ease all remaining restrictions, including the ban on nightclubs, the requirement of a vaccine cert to access indoor dining and mask wearing, in just over a week on October 22.
A briefing from the National Public Health Emergency Team on Wednesday sent a wave of unease about the reopening through Government.
Higher Education Minister Simon Harris has said the Government is looking at extending vaccine certs as a requirement for indoor activities.
Tanaiste Leo Varadkar told the Dail that there would be "no doubt" about reopening if everyone had been vaccinated.
Hospitality employers have been disillusioned by the devastating news - especially those in nightclubs, which haven not been opened in 19 months.
Hugh Hourican, the owner of the Boar's Head on Capel Street, told Dublin Live the unvaccinated are "holding businesses to ransom".
He said: "If you are going to open up the economy to everybody, you are going to have vaccinated and unvaccinated people coming into the same premises.
"Being honest, I think the unvaccinated people are being very selfish. They are holding businesses to ransom.”
Mr Hourican said the news didn't come as a "shock" despite the terrible nature of it.
He said: "I am not really surprised that it is happening but it will lead to a lot more work for us. I am not surprised to hear it because the numbers are too high."
Any reneging on the planned reopening will "of course" negatively impact hospitality, Mr Hourican said.
He said: "There are a lot of tourists coming in with different types of certs. From Thursday on, you have to have a minimum of two extra staff for checking certs, making sure people are sitting down and wearing masks."
"It is going to be tough. It is tough at the minute but it is going to get very tough."
The owner of the busy bar on Capel Street said the news will hit the nightclub industry the hardest.
He said: "It is going to be very hard on the nightclub business - it is shocking for them. They have been closed for 19 months now."
Earlier today in the Dail, Tanaiste Leo Varadkar said a decision on the restrictions will be made on Monday or Tuesday next week and blamed the unvaccinated for the doubts.
He said: "The truth is that, if everyone in Ireland was fully vaccinated, we would probably have approximately 25 people in ICU and 200 in hospital overall today, and there would be no question about easing restrictions on 22 October. It is a personal choice, but it has an impact on other people."
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