Pressure is rising on the Government and from publicans to open 'wet pubs' in Ireland after almost six months shut.
The Taoiseach said pubs will receive guidelines “shortly” on how to reopen with “conditions” as part of a new plan to live with Covid-19, which is expected on September 14.
But Fine Gael leader and Tanaiste Leo Varadkar said he believes publicans should be trusted and given the chance to reopen.
The issue is now causing tensions in the embattled Coalition.
What is a wet pub?
Wet pubs are ones that don't serve food.
There are around 3,500 in the Republic Of Ireland in that category.
Were they supposed to open earlier?
There was plans for the wet pubs to reopen on August 10th, but that was cancelled five days before it by the Government.
Another potential date was August 31st but that didn't happen either.
When are the wet pubs set to open?
It is still an open question at the moment.
An opening date for "wet pubs" will be included in a new phase due to start on September 13th.
Justice Minister Helen McEntee said the Government will publish a new roadmap on that date to guide people through the coming months as fears of a second wave grow.
The Minister said the government is looking at how to re-open all pubs safely and these measures will be included in the plan, to be published shortly.
"We now need to put in place a new road map where people are absolutely clear what is expected of them, what are the guidelines, what is in place - and our publicans deserve no better than that," she told RTE news.
Will gardai be able to close down pubs if they break the rules?
Justice Minister McEntee has also confirmed new legislation to give Gardaí additional powers of enforcement will allow them to close down pubs for up to a month if they are in breach of public health guidelines.
They will do so if a publican refuses to comply with the rules.
Minister McEntee said that the new legislation comes as Gardai report an increase in breaches of guidelines in some pubs - and it will allow gardaí to target "repeat offenders" who have consistently breached the guidelines.
Under the new powers, Gardai will be able to immediately shut down a premises for the remainder of the day once a breach is detected.
If a pub is asked on a second occasion to comply with the guidelines and refuses, a garda superintendent can ask the district court for an emergency closure for up to three days.
If a third breach occurs, after engaging with gardaí, a district court order can again close the pub for between seven to 30 days.
She said gardaí will always engage first and explain the compliance measures ahead of seeking any closure order.
Minister McEntee said these new powers for gardaí will provide a road map for the future opening of all pubs, by ensuring compliance across a range of measures including the wearing of visors, table service, ensuring there is a lead person in a group for contact tracing, and social distancing.
She said with gardaí ensuring all pubs follow these guidelines it will allow pubs to prepare and plan for a future reopening.
What are other European countries doing with 'Wet Pubs'?
Ireland is the only country in Europe with wet pubs – those which do not serve food – shut.
The Tanaiste said he would like to see pubs given the chance to prove they can reopen in the coming weeks.
But he added: “I can’t say that with any certainty [they will open]. What I can say we are now the only country in Europe that wet pubs aren’t reopened with restrictions.
“And I think that sector has shown itself able over the past couple of months to implement guidelines. We’re going to work hard with NPHET over the coming weeks to see if we can come up with a protocol that makes that possible.
“I would like to see them given a chance to prove they can do that but of course there are two things that we need to get right first – guidance we can agree with NPHET and secondly we would like to see cases stabilise and fall for obvious reasons.”
