Micheal Martin has appeared to issue a blow to the number of people allowed for household visits over Christmas.
With the second lockdown set to end on December 1, the Taoiseach said that the Government must "bear in mind" how a ban on visits to homes during Level Three helped to halt the spread of the disease.
Indicating that there may be tough rules to come on how many households should mix over Christmas, he said: “What has emerged is the move on the restriction of households after being introduced during Level Three seems to have had an impact so we have to bear that in mind as we move through December.
“Level Three and the restriction on households that we brought in and then Level Five did work and has worked.
“There has been a narrative around this that I don’t think is helpful or accurate, it has worked, we brought the numbers well down.”
The news comes after the Irish Mirror reported earlier that wet pubs will remain closed for the festive season, while restaurants will be allowed to reopen if daily cases fall below 300.
The hospitality industry has been told that the magic number of Covid cases that will allow a mass reopening of restaurants next week will be “in the 200s.”
Gastropubs will also be given the all-clear, but some form of the controversial “€9 substantial meal” will still apply.
But the chances of wet pubs getting any reprieve are out, with one source telling the Irish Mirror this afternoon: “sadly, not a hope for wet pubs.”
And the authorities will be looking at a better way to prove a bar is really a restaurant.
This is heading towards a restaurant having to have a working kitchen in place.
It is considered too dangerous at this stage for the ‘wet pubs’ to reopen, but intense lobbying by the pub industry is ongoing for a compromise.
