Stephen Donnelly (Wicklow, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

Temporary regulations were brought in for the sole purpose of limiting the spread of Covid-19 to save lives, protect health, get our hospitals, schools and colleges open and allow the economy to function. That is what they are for. The Government opposes the motion to annul these regulations but I welcome the opportunity to discuss them and I thank the Deputies for tabling it. I welcome the opportunity to discuss the plans for opening the pubs and bars in the context of a roadmap which will be published next week.

The regulations in question, the Health Act 1947 (Section 31A - Temporary Restrictions) (Covid-19) (No. 4) Regulations 2020 are an important part of our efforts to suppress the virus. That is what these regulations are for. As Deputies are all too well aware, the virus is on an upward trajectory in Ireland. An important measure used to track the spread of the virus is the total number of cases in the previous two weeks. In early July, the total number of cases in the previous two weeks in Ireland was three per 100,000 population. Two weeks ago, it had increased from three to 28 and today it is at 35, which is a vast increase in the number of cases. Our total number of confirmed cases has just gone above 30,000 and among those, tragically, as we all know, are 1,778 women and men who have died. We are not at the levels we saw back in April and May but we are on an upward trajectory and this trajectory is causing a great deal of concern. Many countries in Europe face similar problems. Earlier, I spoke with my counterpart in Denmark where on Monday new measures were introduced as that country faces a rise in cases.

If the first chapter of this fight against Covid was flattening the curve, I would say we are now in the second chapter, which is to suppress the virus so we can open our society and economy. We are always seeking ways to strike the right balance in how we do this while we live in a world where Covid is present. I recognise, as does the Government, that pubs and bars can form part of the social fabric in many communities. I absolutely accept this. For many, they offer an important social outlet and the delay in reopening the pubs, which nobody wanted, has implications for those who rely on them for their livelihoods, including the publicans and the many men and women who work in the sector.

Yesterday, as the House will know, the Government decided that all pubs and bars will be able to reopen on 21 September without the requirement to serve substantial meals. We need to be very clear that this is subject to the epidemiological situation at the time and the application of any potential localised measures. As part of the implementation of the necessary protective measures, and because we know that when these pubs open they will do everything they can to operate in a safe manner for their staff and customers, Fáilte Ireland's guidelines for reopening pubs are being updated. Until then, the regulations provide that a service or business that is selling or supplying alcohol for consumption on the premises may not open to the public other than where the alcohol is ordered at the same time as a substantial meal is ordered, during the meal or after the meal has ended, and consumed during the meal or after the meal has ended. In other words, if one is in a place that serves alcohol, one needs to have a substantial meal. That is the deal and it is based on solid public health evidence of what has happened abroad. When restaurants opened they did not see clusters of cases, but when pubs opened without food being served they did see a rise in the number of clusters of cases. That is what has underlain this measure from day one. This requirement has been in place since the end of June. The recent regulations, to which Deputies have referred and which were the subject of much debate last week, simply enforce that requirement. That is all they do.

It is important to say that the vast majority of premises selling alcohol for consumption on the premises operate in compliance with the regulations. The hospitality sector, however, including restaurateurs and publicans, has asked in that small number of cases in which there is non-compliance for a way to enforce the regulations. Members of An Garda Síochána have made the same point, that up until now there has been very little they can do. I put it to the Deputies that in the first instance this is not in line with public health measures and, second, it is grossly unfair on the vast majority of publicans who are operating within the guidelines. We therefore introduced a regulation providing that in such circumstances the pub in question could be asked to produce proof of sale of the meals. This can be done very simply in the form of till receipts, which every restaurant and pub already keeps for six or seven years for its VAT returns. Put simply, a small number of pubs where alcohol is being sold are operating as pubs and essentially pretending they serve food, that is, pretending that substantial meals are served. We know this. We have heard publicans and restaurateurs talk about it. There might be a scattering of empty pizza boxes. All this regulation means is that a garda can walk into a premises and if the publican says he or she has sold substantial meals, the garda can ask to take a look at the till receipts. That is it. That is all the regulation does.

These public health measures were designed to suppress the virus and keep people safe. The regulation contains data protection provisions that stipulate the purposes for which the data collected may be used. It refers to data being collected that may be used by three specific parties. The first is a specified person who is in charge of the premises for the purposes of complying with the regulations or of providing information to the HSE for contact tracing, which is critical. The second is the HSE, again for the purposes of contract tracing. The third is An Garda Síochána, in order that it can monitor compliance with the regulations or enforce in a small number of cases in which that may be required. These are all essential parts of our measures to combat Covid-19 and, therefore, essential parts of the regulations. The Data Protection Commissioner has said the stated aim of the Government in procuring compliance with the regulations through inspections by An Garda Síochána in the context of the pandemic is sufficient justification for the level of interference that arises.

The motion proposed by the Deputies includes the annulment of many other health regulations, including those relating to events and gatherings. If these were to be annulled, the provisions limiting the size of gatherings indoors and outdoors for social, recreational, exercise, cultural, entertainment or community reasons would also be annulled. This would be hugely damaging to our efforts to suppress the virus, keep people safe and, ultimately, reduce the virus in the community to a point where the schools can open up, the hospitals can stay open, the restaurants can open and the pubs can open. The regulations also specify that a person should not organise a social or recreational event in a private dwelling unless the number attending does not exceed those residing in the private dwelling plus an additional six from no more than three households. Again, should the regulations be annulled, these provisions would also be annulled. Finally, the regulations also do not permit the public to access nightclubs, discotheques, casinos or private members' clubs. Should the regulations be annulled, as is proposed, these provisions would be annulled. I can tell the Deputies with absolute certainty that the evidence internationally is that if these regulations were to be annulled, the number of cases of Covid in this country would rise very high very quickly, and we know from what is happening here and what has happened in places such as Florida that after the cases go up, the hospitalisations go up. The cases move from younger people to older people, and then we see the fatalities rise. That is what happens. That is what we are all working so hard to avoid.

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