Ireland's 'wet pubs' may be set to reopen on September 21st following Government discussions with the National Public Health Emergency Team (NPHET).
Pubs that do not serve food have been close since mid-March, with a number of reopening dates having been postponed due to a rise in the daily number of confirmed Covid-19 cases.
The Cabinet is due to meet later today to discuss the possibility of reopening the remainder of pubs with new guidelines, as was done when restaurants were permitted to reopen.
Over the weekend, The Irish Times reported that Fáilte Ireland had drawn up new guidelines for the sector, which included reducing social distancing measures to one meter in a controlled environment.
As with restaurants and pubs serving food currently, all customers will be required to have left the premises by 11.30 pm.
The guidelines also state that customers should be served at the table, to avoid crowds gathering at the bar, and pre-booking or time-limited slots will not be required if a physical distance of two metres can be maintained.
This will mean that pubs operating under these conditions will not have to limit customers to spending any longer than 105 minutes on the premises.
Due to the 11.30 pm closing time recommended by Fáilte Ireland, it is unlikely that nightclubs or late bars will be permitted to reopen at the end of September.
Donal O'Keeffe, chief executive of the Licenced Vintners' Associaton, says the new measures will be tough but businesses in the sector will do whatever it takes to reopen at last.
"It's going to be far more labour intensive in terms of serving customers and cleaning routines and in terms of administration around customer contact tracing details, but that's what's required to get open in this environment.
"We do hope that over time, as the virus is managed, that the situation improves and that these guidelines will be relaxed, but for now, the most important thing is simply to get the pubs open."
