Alan Kelly has slammed the Government’s plans for reopening pubs and restaurants as “a mess, a complete mess.”
The Labour leader also launched a blistering attack on Tourism Minister Catherine Martin over the confusion on Covid certs for hospitality.
Mr Kelly said Ms Martin “didn’t know what she was talking about” as confusion reigned among the public this afternoon ahead of a planned indoor reopening of pubs next week.
The Labour leader was speaking after Ms Martin repeated a Government position on Tuesday morning that GPs could issue Covid recovery certs - and that these could subsequently be used to gain access to indoor hospitality from next week.
However, just over an hour later, her Green party colleague and junior minister in charge of digital, Ossian Smith, came on the same airwaves, RTE Radio One, to “apologise” for Ms Martin “on her behalf.”
Mr Kelly has blasted the utter confusion among fellow ministers inside Government.
He said: “It’s been a while in politics that I’ve seen something made such a mess of.
“The fact that multiple ministers, particularly the senior minister in charge of hospitality, in charge of the tourism industry (Ms Martin), didn’t know what she was talking about.
“It’s deeply worrying, the level of contradictions, and actually from a deployment point of view, it’s a mess, it’s a complete mess.
A spokesman for Ms Martin has indicated that Ms Martin stands by her position and that “proof of immunity” as a Digital Covid Certificate, or “a form of proof of recovery from Covid-19 as may be prescribed in regulations” will work for vaccine passes.
He said this could include a letter from a relevant medical person (including a GP).
