Up to 50,000 workers from the hospitality sector are signing on today following the closure of pubs, clubs and restaurants around the country.
They will be closed for the next two weeks in an effort to stop the spread of coronavirus.
The Licensed Vintners Association says it was just too difficult to follow social distancing rules.
The Moorings Restaurant & Bar in Dungarvan closed their doors yesterday afternoon.
Marie Quinn says they had been social distancing the past number of days:
She told WLR News
"We followed all the guidelines, in fact we went over and above, we cancelled bookings that were bigger than 20, because we felt
it was the right thing to do. We actually delivered food to some people who had reservations with us that we could'nt do them on the
premises, so we brought the food to them. We did everything we could, we definitley were not open to be making money, we were really only
open to look after who had reservations with us. We have people who come in and they actually sit on the same table every day.
We have regulars who come in Monday to Friday and actually have lunch with us."
She says they've received a lot of support in the area:
"The community spirit has just been amazing. Since we put up our post to say we were going to close down until further notice, the comments
and the support from everybody has just been amazing. I think when we all recover from this everybody will help each other out and everybody will
support each other. We are already making plans as to how we can help other businesses in the area.
Justice Minister Charlie Flanagan says new powers could be sought to force pubs to close.
But he expects publicans to stick to the agreement reached last night:
