Gardaí can seek for a pub to be closed for 30 days if they breach guidelines three times.
The government has signed off on a legislation that will give Gardaí the power to shut pubs that are not adhering to public health guidelines.
Gardaí will be able to issue a compliance notice to a pub owner, which will ask them to address any issues on the spot.
If the regulations are breached, Gardaí will then have the option to use an Immediate Closure Order that would shut the pub for a day.
If a pub refuses to close, the bar’s owners would face a fine of up to €2,500 or a six-month prison sentence.
Gardaí will also be able to apply to the District Court for an Emergency Closure Order, which could close a pub for up to 30 days.
Speaking on Friday, Tánaiste Leo Varadkar said that he can’t say “with any certainty” that wet pubs (pubs that do not serve food) will reopen again in 2020.
“What I can say, is that we are now the only country in Europe in which pubs are not allowed to open, albeit with restrictions… We need to start seeing cases stabalise and fall for obvious reasons.”
As well as this, a €15 million package to help the pub sector was also announced. Varadkar confirmed that the government is waiving all court and licence fees for hotels, pubs and restaurant
The reopening of wet pubs has been delayed a number of times, with no official opening date in sight.
LISTEN: You Must Be Jokin’ with Aideen McQueen – Faith healers, Coolock craic and Gigging as Gaeilge
