Only pubs that serve food will be allowed to reopen from next Friday for the Christmas period.
In yet another blow to wet pubs, they will be limited to only take-away services for the festive season.
And in a further hammering of the industry, bars must have a working kitchen in order to pull up their shutters, meaning those getting food from nearby restaurants will stay closed.
Speaking about keeping wet pubs closed, Taoiseach Micheal Martin said: "Unfortunately, nothing in the research available to Government supports any further reopening of so-called ‘wet pubs’ at this stage.
"I know how deeply frustrating this will be for business owners in this sector.
"I fully accept their goodwill about respecting guidelines – but the reality is that reopening indoor hospitality carries risks and there is only so far we can safely go."
Although it welcomes the reopening of some pubs, the Vintners Federation of Ireland has blasted the move, saying the Government's hypocrisy will "split the trade in two".
Padraig Cribben, VFI Chief Executive, said: “The trade has experienced a series of ever-deepening depressions over the past nine months but this latest decision by Government to keep pubs closed while the rest of the hospitality sector reopens is the worst by far.
"The Taoiseach said he is trusting business owners and customers to act responsibly when the country reopens next week but his message to publicans is ‘we don’t trust you’.
“Pubs are some of the most regulated businesses in the country, while publicans must renew their licence annually.
"It’s not in their interest to ignore the guidelines as they know it could lead to a loss of their licence and livelihood.
"We also know from the 30,000 inspections carried out by An Garda since the summer is that the overwhelming majority of publicans were compliant with the guidelines.”
