On Monday, Ireland’s hospitality industry welcomed back indoor dining across the country for those who are vaccinated or have recently recovered from Covid.
This particular easing marked a major step forward in our return to normality - however, some people are voicing their anger with the fact that huge numbers of citizens cannot avail of the service for now.
The new legislation was signed into Irish law in a bid to finally see the return of indoor dining amid the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic, but questions remain over some of the rules.
Last month, hotels reopened for service, allowing residents to avail of indoor dining, before the vaccine and recovery cert rule was brought in, and now many are raising the question of ‘do I need a cert if I’m a resident in a hotel?’
The Department of Tourism told the Irish Mirror that under the new regulations, "residents of hotels do not have to show proof of vaccination/recovery to dine indoors."
Therefore, people who have booked a room in any hotel are exempt from the indoor dining rules and don't need to worry if they can't get their hands on a Cert in time for their stay.
Meanwhile, Failte Ireland released guidelines for each business reopening indoor service, including details of how customers can now gain entry:
- You must present to the responsible person the controlled entrance proof of Immunity made under the Health (Amendment)(No.2) Act 2021; this will include EU Digital Covid Certificate and HSE Covid-19 Vaccination Record)
- You will then scan and confirm the validity of the vaccination or recovered status of each customer using the EU Digital Covid Certificate Checker or other validation of Proof of Immunity prescribed in regulations
- Finally, staff will cross-check the name on the documentation with Photo ID - Acceptable forms of ID are Driving Licence, Passport or other photo ID - before showing you to your table.
