Vivienne Clarke
The chief executive of the Restaurants Association has said his sector needs to see guidelines on indoor dining in “black and white” today, amid a delay over their publication.
Adrian Cummins said the Restaurants Association of Ireland (RAI) will meet with Government officials this afternoon to see the details for the reopening of indoor dining on Monday.
Fáilte Ireland and Government officials are meeting this morning to finalise the guidelines, which were expected to be published yesterday.
“We need to see the details today,” Mr Cummins told RTÉ radio’s Morning Ireland, so that plans can be put in place to ensure a smooth reopening on Monday.
“We need to operationalise these details when we see them in black and white.”
Policing
Key details will be how will the regulations be policed and who will police them, Mr Cummins added.
There will be templates for premises so they will know what documents will be accepted for proof of vaccination or proof of recovery, he said.
All premises will be expected to apply the new public health guidelines and adhere to the new legislation, but each restaurant will also apply its own policies, he added.
Customers will also need to know what will be required of them so they can bring the proper documentation. “It’s important that we all work together, that the flow into restaurants is operated in a proper manner.”
We’re trying to speed up the process from when customers arrive
Mr Cummins said members of the sector already had a briefing on the technical side of the new regulations, demonstrating how to scan the EU Digital Cert. This service will go live today, he said, and the public will be able to check their own cert online in advance through www.gov.ie.
“We’re trying to speed up the process from when customers arrive to when they are seated at their table.”
Mr Cummins said his gut feeling was that the majority of premises were “ready to go” to reopen on Monday. He acknowledged that some may not have their staff ready, but in general the industry was “can do” and they were ready to welcome customers on Monday.
