A Clare travel expert believes the mandatory hotel quarantine system will have to be phased out slowly and extremely cautiously, if international travel is to resume this summer.
Cabinet Ministers are meeting at the moment to sign off on plans to ease restrictions.
International travel, indoor dining and crowds at live events are all set to return in July and August.
This is the ‘beginning of the end’ of the pandemic – the message from the Green Party leader ahead of the Taoiseach’s announcment this evening.
Foreign holidays are expected to return on July 19th, with Ireland set to adopt the EU’s digital green cert that week under plans going to cabinet this afternoon.
Transport Minister Eamon Ryan has said the Mandatory hotel Quarantine system will remain in place for a short period of time but it’s understood that France, Belgium and Luxembourg will be removed from the list.
Speaking on his way into cabinet, Health Minister Stephen Donnelly says the return of travel between here and Britain will have to be done cautiously:
Clare Travel Councillor Gearóid Mannion says the system will have to be unravelled slowly and cuatiously.
But he’s expressed confidence that there will be a gradual re-opening of travel to European countries this summer.
On June 7th restaurants and pubs can open for outdoor dining, while cinemas and gyms will also re-open.
Outdoor gatherings of 100 people will be allowed in June, or up to 200 in very large venues and the number of people at weddings will increase to 50 from July 5th, then to 100 in August.
August will also see crowds back at matches, with the lower of 5,000 people or 25 per cent of capacity of the venue allowed at big outdoor events.
The government is also looking at trial events over the summer with bigger crowds, particularly targeting the GAA provincial finals.
NPHET has also cleared the way for indoor dining to return from July 5th.
But the Restaurants Association of Ireland has said it will be taking a legal challenge in a bid to be allowed to open indoor dining at the same time as hotels on June 2nd.
Chief Executive, Padraig Cribben says the 1 metre length of stay rule for customers should also be scrapped.
