Mr. Padraig Cribben:

The reality is we are not looking for specific dates but rather the point on the road, such as a certain percentage of the population being vaccinated. We are being told that 80% of all adults will have their first vaccination by the end of the June. If that is the case, 80% of all adults will have their second vaccination by the end of July because there is only meant to be a four-week gap. One assumes that by the end of July, much of the remaining 20% would be offered their first vaccination as well. The question is where will be the bonus from people having the vaccination. We need to know the level of vaccination required to reopen.

Deputy Dillon mentioned outdoor dining. Mr. Cummins referred to 20% of businesses having this capability. I would not argue with that. It assumes that somebody has put up a roof. We know we can get a bout of hailstones as quickly as a bout of sunshine in July or August. Talking about outdoor dining in an Irish context is, by and large, a red herring. Businesses will not be viable with just outdoor dining. The Deputy represents a constituency where there is a big dependency on tourism. Last year, that constituency would have lost quite a lot and there would be a cumulative effect in losing business this year. Many of those businesses will not recover if they lose two seasons. I do not need to tell the Deputy that they use the summer season to build up a reserve to pay the bills in January, February and March. There will be major challenges if we do not get open for the summer season.