Public Expenditure Minister Michael McGrath has responded to Dr Tony Holohan after he urged parents not to bring their children into pubs and restaurants next week.
Under the Government’s plans to resume indoor hospitality, children under the age of 18 can eat indoors once they are with a fully vaccinated parent or guardian.
But last night, Dr Holohan told parents they should continue to eat outdoors as it is “safer to do so”.
Dr Holohan said: “For now, to parents of young children - it’s safer not to bring your children into indoor dining and other facilities, even though those kinds of things would be possible.
“If you’re a parent of young children and you’re anxious to go out for a meal, it’s better to do that outdoors rather than indoors or to put that off until such a point as where we believe we’ve gotten to a higher point of population vaccination.
“You don't have to go indoors.
“We know that Delta transmission among children can happen.”
However, Minister Michael McGrath has told parents to make up their own minds and said they are “well capable” of deciding whether to bring their children into pubs and restaurants.
He denied there was mixed messaging on the matter and said the Government listened to NPHET’s advice.
He said: “We have carefully taken on board the advice of NPHET and the key issue from NPHET’s point of view was the focus would be on people who are fully vaccinated and people who have recovered from Covid.
“But there is a reality as well, families exist, they take their children with them when they go out for a meal and so on and we believe that can be done in a safe way.”
Minister McGrath said the Government has identified a “middle path” and he believes the decision taken by the Government “is the right thing to do.”
He told Newstalk: “This is not the approach we wanted to implement, it’s not ideal.
“We can see the down sides but the stark choice for the Government was to implement this approach, or don’t open indoor hospitality for a number of months, or open with no restrictions.
“So we identified what we think is a middle path and it is sensible.
“And ultimately on the question of children, parents will make up their own minds and they’re well capable of doing so.
“I think parents will make up their own mind, that is the reality.”
