Sinn Féin voted against the legislation in the Dáil on Wednesday.
Mary Lou McDonald has said that the indoor dining legislation that was passed in the Dáil on Thursday is “unenforceable and discriminatory”.
The legislation, which will allow people who are fully vaccinated, accompanying under 18s and those who have recently recovered from Covid-19 to dine indoors, was passed by 72 votes to 66, despite opposition TDs describing it as “unworkable” and “divisive”.
The legislation was opposed by Sinn Féin in the Dáil on Wednesday, with McDonald describing the indoor dining rules as “unenforceable” while speaking to Morning Ireland on Thursday.
The Sinn Féin leader added that her party is “far from” being against the reopening of indoor dining, saying that they want hospitality to open for everyone when it’s safe to do so.
When asked if she was against the reopening of the indoor hospitality sector, McDonald said: “No, we’re not, far from it. We want hospitality to open up safely with all of the mitigations that are required for that, and to open up for everyone.
“We are absolutely opposed to the kind of rushed, unenforceable, and discriminatory legislation that the government forced through the house last night.”
McDonald said that she believes the legislation was a result of a “lack of preparedness” from the government.
“We set out our stall very comprehensively in the course of that debate, and I think it’s a very great pity that we’ve come to this point that the government, because of their lack of preparedness and lack of competence, that the only answer they could come up with to reopen hospitality is to have a discriminatory and a very divisive approach,” she added.
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