A Sligo gastropub has hit out at the Government for it's "madness" after a busy weekend in the town.
The Pilot Bar took to social media on Sunday evening with a gorgeous view of the nearby Enniscrone Beach.
Clearly visible is a full car park and plenty of locals or Sligo natives who took the opportunity to enjoy the glorious sunshine.
However, in the follow-up picture, the bar showed its outdoor picnic tables with tape over them.
And the owner said: "Beach is packed & great to see people having fun! But I have to tape-off benches in case anyone sits to eat one of our take away Pizzas as that would be "outside dining" not yet allowable! Madness!"
The anger of the bar comes ahead of crunch meetings of both NPHET and the Cabinet this week to decide on further loosening of restrictions in May, June and July.
And two Government ministers have hinted that the possibility of 'outdoor dining' is on the cards for Cabinet.
Minister for Foreign Affairs Simon Coveney has said May will be about the "loosening" of Covid-19 restrictions.
"Everybody wants to get to a point where we have incremental opening-up which includes inter-county travel at some point in the next number of months as well as hotels, restaurants, pubs, and so on.
"Realistically I think the month of May is going to be focused on the loosening of restrictions along the lines that I’ve just outlined and we, I hope, will be able to give clear signals based on what’s possible in June, July and into August, so businesses can start planning for that."
Elsewhere, Minister for Higher Education Simon Harris' recent remarks on the topic of outdoor gatherings were encouraging.
He said: “I do think the evidence around outdoor activities, and how they can be done safely, perhaps gives hope that we can do a little bit more in the outdoor space. I think there might be the potential to do a bit more in May.
“For example at the moment you can meet up outdoor with one household, is there a possibility you can do more in relation to that? Things like outdoor dining and the likes, I am not in a position to give a definitive view on, but I think we need to start answering those questions next week."
