Ireland's 'wet pubs' will reopen on September 21st following the agreement of the Cabinet today.
Pubs that do not serve food have been close since mid-March, after a number of reopening dates postponed due to a rise in the daily number of confirmed Covid-19 cases.
The Cabinet met to discuss the possibility of reopening the remainder of pubs with new guidelines, following the advice of the National Public Health Emergency Team (NPHET).
One senior source has confirmed to the Irish Examiner that although the reopening has been agreed, they would be subject "to any local restriction that may be in place in areas, and they'd have to effectively open with no bar service etc".
"Dublin and Limerick on a knife-edge. Would not be surprised if we saw more restrictions there."
Earlier today, the president of the Irish College of General Practitioners, Dr Mary Favier, alluded to the same point, saying she cannot see wet pubs in Dublin or Limerick opening anytime soon due to increased levels of the virus in the two counties.
She told RTÉ's Morning Ireland that the opening of such pubs will be contingent on local circumstances.
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 11.30pm.
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 no longer than 105 minutes on the premises.
Due to the 11.30pm closing time recommended by Fáilte Ireland, it is unlikely that nightclubs or late bars will be permitted to reopen at the end of September.
The Vintner's Federation of Ireland has welcomed the news, but CEO Padraig Cribben says the guidelines for publicans are "onerous".
"Viability and survival will only happen if we have a decent suite of supports to assist those who have been closed now for six months, three months more than any other businesses out there.
"We will be hopefully engaging with Government over the next couple of days to see how best that suite of supports can be put in place."
