Restaurant Association slams “ageist” plan to reopen only for vaccinated people

Chief Executive Adrian Cummins said he believes the plan is "very discriminatory".

Chief Executive of the Restaurant Association of Ireland Adrian Cummins has hit out at the Government's proposed plan to allow hospitality to reopen exclusively for vaccinated cohorts. Speaking on Virgin Media's The Tonight Show on Tuesday, Cummins described the suggestion as both "discriminatory" and "ageist". "Well, it's divisive - it divides communities, families, people going out, and it is ageism also," he said. "We believe it is very discriminatory - also we would like to see a report on whether this is legally binding because of the equality act." Speaking at a press conference on Tuesday, Taoiseach Micheál Martin confirmed that the reopening of indoor dining could come sooner for people who are vaccinated as a new system to prove people have received the jab is currently being drawn up. When asked if there was a possibility that other indoor activities that recently reopened such as cinemas, hair salons, and non-essential retail also using the system, Martin didn't rule out the option, adding that they will "work with the sectors". "We will examine now the advice as we've received in respect of that from the National Public Health Emergency Team (NPHET)," he said. "We have to work through it." The recommendation would see many young people excluded from indoor activities over the coming months as people in their 20s are not set to receive both Covid-19 jabs until September. Leo Varadkar added that the Government only planned to use the green cert for international travel and not domestic services, saying that the new advice is "a big and difficult change". "The alternative is to keep these facilities closed until we reach herd immunity and we can't say when that is. So this might just be the right way forward," he said. Varadkar added that the new advice is "not undoable", however, it does have "consequences" and could be "decisive".