Richard O'Donoghue (Limerick County, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I have talked to several hotels in County Limerick, from three star to five star: Deebert House Hotel, Kilmallock, Woodland House Hotel, Adare, The Mustard Seed, Ballingarry, Rathkeale House Hotel, Longcourt House Hotel, Newcastle West, and the Devon Inn Hotel, Templeglantine. All these hotels are waiting for the lockdown to lift, in the hope of salvaging Christmas. I spoke at length to the manager of Adare Manor, where 600 people are employed, who told me what the Taoiseach talked about earlier on, if he mentioned the hotels were opening. The Taoiseach had a channel to get to the hotels, restaurants and businesses and tell them that if the level 5 restrictions hold the numbers to a certain level, they would then be allowed to open. Then the hotels could gauge it themselves and prepare going forward. However, everything is a secret and the Government expects it can turn a switch and everything will be rosy and things will happen straight away. The Taoiseach had the mechanism within his Department to go to dialogue and give the information to the hoteliers and businesses and tell them if we reach certain numbers, we will go to level 3; if we reach different numbers, we will go to level 4. Then they could prepare for it. That is called giving people personal responsibility. Empower the people. People are not fools in Ireland. They want to keep themselves safe and the Taoiseach can then use what force is necessary for the minority who will not do it.

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