Ireland will need to be at Level One or Two of the Living with Covid plan if people are to see the inside of Irish pubs this Christmas.
Minister Stephen Donnelly this week hinted that a move straight to Level Two could happen on December 1 but it all depends on how prevalent the virus is by then.
When lockdown was first announced the Taoiseach said that Level Three was the plan once out of Level Five.
And for those hoping to get to the pub this December, a move to Level Two or the elusive One will be necessary.
The Living with Covid plan could change between now and December 1 but at the moment they are the only two levels that allow for gatherings inside pubs.
Level Three and Four would allow for pubs to open but only serve 15 people outdoors in the freezing December cold.
This is the advice for pubs if Ireland was at Level One or Level Two;
Level Two
"Open with robust protective measures in place (for example: physical distancing, table service only, cleaning regimes, noise controls and so on).
"Maximum numbers linked to capacity of establishment, taking account of public health advice including appropriate social distancing, but with individual groups limited to 6 people from the same household."
Level One
"Open with protective measures in place (for example: physical distancing, table service only, cleaning regimes, noise controls).
"Maximum numbers in bars linked to capacity of the establishment - taking account of public health advice."
Unclear which level we will have at Christmas
NPHET member Cillian De Gascun has said it is too early to tell if Ireland will be in Level Two for Christmas.
Speaking on RTE Radio One, Dr De Gascun said: "At this stage we don't know what level we are going to be at for Christmas, we are still six/seven weeks out so trying to predict where we are going to be(is difficult).
"The key message for people to take on board is people have done very well over the last two weeks, the case numbers are down, the incidence is falling, the R rate is below 1, that's a really good sign."
