Dr. Ronan Glynn:

In the first instance, we need to reiterate that unfortunately we had to recommend a set of measures for the country last week. We recommended those measures because as of yesterday, we have seen cases in all bar one county over the past 14 days. As Professor Nolan alluded to earlier, within counties and within a particular community area, people work, travel and socialise. It is difficult to say that any one region in the country is devoid of disease and even if it is today, it may not be tomorrow. On the pubs, as I have said previously, we absolutely recognise the impact this has had on small family businesses around the country and on communities that rely on their local pubs as a key social point of contact for people. However, we have to be clear about what our priorities are. For the next few weeks at least, our priority has to be the reopening of our education system, ensuring that goes smoothly in the context of a set of measures that are already in place for the country around reducing congregation. I absolutely commit to keeping it under review both nationally and on a regional basis. I reiterate that we are fully cognisant of the impact this is having on the industry.