Would you tattle on your takeaway?
Opposition parties and hospitality reps are calling on the government to enforce stricter sanctions on venues that aren’t enforcing Covid guidelines.
The comments come after a meeting on Tuesday (9 November) between the Restaurants Association of Ireland, Dr Ronan Glynn and government officials.
The Association described the meeting as “full and frank” with discussions of sanctions such as penalties, fines, and closures for businesses who fail to uphold restrictions.
VFI Chief Executive Padraig Cribben said while most pubs were enforcing restrictions, those who breach guidelines should face repercussions.
“Publicans, the authorities and the wider public all need to work together to ensure we can return to normal life without restrictions as soon as possible”, he said.
“For the present, we all need to focus on compliance and awareness, all venues should continue checking for proof of immunity along with the other required measures while the public need to play their part through wearing masks and following the rules currently in place.”
Social Democrats co-leader Catherine Murphy told the Irish Mirror that she supported a phone line being put in place for customers and workers who wished to report a premises for not adhering to guidelines.
“A helpline was one of the things that was looked for and I think where people can ring and say ‘look I wasn’t checked’ so that you’re after going after the places that are non-compliant rather than going after the places that are fully complying”, she said.
“The people that are in the sector that are complying deserve to be allowed to stay open without restriction and that’s the reason why you’ve got to get the ones that are not complying.”
People Before Profit leader Richard Boyd Barrett was also in favour of the phone line, particularly in relation to workers who felt unsafe.
“They should have an avenue to report it and workers should have an avenue to report it and we need inspections to make sure there is compliance,” he said.
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