No time limits or meal requirements for outdoor dining, Leo Varadkar confirms

There will be no time limits or €9 substantial meal requirements when outdoor dining resumes on June 7th, according to Táiniste Leo Varadkar.

Fáilte Ireland is currently preparing the specific guidelines and rules for restauranteurs and publicans ahead of reopening this summer.

Varadkar spoke at the Joint Committee on Enterprise, Trade and Employment this morning about what restrictions he anticipates will be scrapped.

Other restrictions such as the cap of 15 people on the premises are also said to be scrapped unless there is a significant deterioration in the public health situation. Tables will be required to be kept 1-1.5m apart.

"If you have the space, you have the space," he said.

The guidelines will allow for tables of up to six people drawn from any number of households.

He also said that indoor dining is expected to resume in "early July," along with some mass events.

"As always there are other factors. It’s not just the vaccines. It’s case numbers which seem to be rising again, also the situation in hospitals which continues to improve and the issue around variants and we do have a concern about the Indian variant. There is some evidence in the UK of increased transmission and hospitalisation," he said.

If indoor hospitality returns, Varadkar said four key factors for this need to be favourable; cases and the R number; hospitalisations; the vaccine programme and variants.

The Tànaiste also said that he has been so encouraged by the freedoms the vaccine has given the UK and Israel, "it makes me really hopeful to say that we will be allowed to do outdoors in June and indoors in July. In fact, I'd even dare to put money on it at this stage".

🍽️Tánaiste Leo Varadkar confirms the €9 substantial meal requirement for outdoor dining is GONE from June 7.

- Table service only.

- No cap of 15 customers.

- No 2 hour limit

— Richard Chambers (@newschambers) May 19, 2021