Will you go for a pint when restrictions are lifted?

Hotels like pubs are not allowed to sell alcohol except with a meal, even residents cannot have a drink unless it is with a meal.

I was in a well known Nass Road hotel last Wednesday night to pick up a relation. Liverpool were playing Chelsea, the place was packed with red jerseys, all drinking, hardly a plate to be seen anywhere. Mostly non resident males in large groups, according to my relation. Clearly the hotel had no regard for either the rules around selling drink with food only or social distancing.

Currently I am away for a few nights in a hotel in Leitrim. In the restaurant last night we asked for a couple of drinks as we looked at the menu, the very polite waitress said she could not take a drinks order until we actually ordered food.

Fair play to the Leitrim hotel, I would have expected more compliance in Dublin and less in the country, clearly not the case.

Food was promptly ordered.
 
@twofor1 clearly you frequent alot of hotels and bars , if you are so worried about your health and social distancing you should stay in your own house, everyone can choose their own level of risk, pubs and hotels are something you choose yourself they are not shops where you absolutely have no choice.
 
Joe, clearly you are missing the point. It is not just about the hotel on Wednesday night, I don't have to go there, and will not go anywhere that does not comply with social distancing.

I can't choose my own level of risk when all those who were packed into the hotel bar will then be going home where others probably live, and the following days will be going to shops, work etc, maybe even using public transport.

I have to go to the same shops, work and use the same public transport as those who chose to ignore social distancing rules by being in packed bars.
 
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Also, for pubs and restaurants currently open and serving food, all customers must be off the premises by 11pm.
 
The rest of the pubs should have been allowed to open with the same conditions. There will be even more house parties than before...
 
joer said:
The rest of the pubs should have been allowed to open with the same conditions. There will be even more house parties than before...
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I felt they should have allowed them to open but given Gardai the powers to immediately shut down any pub flouting the guidelines on capacity, distancing etc.
 
I think this government is less decisive than the last one, there are alot of new ministers with little experience and are afraid of being blamed if it goes wrong hence the extreme caution. The last cabinet had some very experienced ministers and Leo Varadker was a doctor who wasn't overly in awe of the health experts, Also they dont want to give the teachers another excuse not to open the schools
 
This government is very indecisive alright. But why not open the pubs and hotel bars and ,as Odyssey says, close down the ones who dont obey the rules . I would say that would only be a very small number.
Schools just have to be allowed open.
 
joe sod said:
I think this government is less decisive than the last one, there are alot of new ministers with little experience and are afraid of being blamed if it goes wrong hence the extreme caution. The last cabinet had some very experienced ministers and Leo Varadker was a doctor who wasn't overly in awe of the health experts, Also they dont want to give the teachers another excuse not to open the schools
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I think that's unfair. Opening up too soon would be counterproductive. The decision on this, like the previous ones, will be based on the advice of the experts.
 
Purple said:
The decision on this, like the previous ones, will be based on the advice of the experts.
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But the "experts" have a very narrow focus, if there was 2 new people with Covid it would be still too risky for them. I think the caretaker government was making better decisions because they had more experience and were not so afraid of public opinion, this new cabinet seems crippled by inexperience and caution.
 
joe sod said:
But the "experts" have a very narrow focus, if there was 2 new people with Covid it would be still too risky for them. I think the caretaker government was making better decisions because they had more experience and were not so afraid of public opinion, this new cabinet seems crippled by inexperience and caution.
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I agree that the new government is not performing as well but they'll need a few months to find their feet. That can be expected with any government or anyone in a new job. We all get better with experience.
 
joe sod said:
But the "experts" have a very narrow focus, if there was 2 new people with Covid it would be still too risky for them. I think the caretaker government was making better decisions because they had more experience and were not so afraid of public opinion, this new cabinet seems crippled by inexperience and caution.
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I'm reading between the lines here but my instinct is that in a country like France they can open places up with strict guidelines and the state has the bodies and powers to enforce that.
Something seems to be lacking here and it's "all or nothing" or guidelines that can be ignored without penalty.
 
I am in no way pushed whether the drinking only pubs reopen in 3.5 weeks time or 52 weeks time. I acknowledge that publicans' means of making a living is more than curtailed, but we need to talk about many Irish drinking habits anyway (perhaps in a different thread). In the meantime let's use this period of near abstinence positively and most of us may be all the better for it.
 
I hope you are right Leper that we may be better off for it but only time will tell.
 
Leper said:
I am in no way pushed whether the drinking only pubs reopen in 3.5 weeks time or 52 weeks time. I acknowledge that publicans' means of making a living is more than curtailed, but we need to talk about many Irish drinking habits anyway (perhaps in a different thread). In the meantime let's use this period of near abstinence positively and most of us may be all the better for it.
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I presume you are talking about the move to drinking more wine as home.
If so I can say that it is one of the few occasions that I was ahead of the curve.
 
Leper said:
I am in no way pushed whether the drinking only pubs reopen in 3.5 weeks time or 52 weeks time. I acknowledge that publicans' means of making a living is more than curtailed, but we need to talk about many Irish drinking habits anyway
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That's a completely separate issue and nothing to do with covid, that would be very bad policy if authorities were shoehorning in restrictions on pub openings under the guise of covid because of their own personal biases with regard to alcohol.
 
joe sod said:
But the "experts" have a very narrow focus, if there was 2 new people with Covid it would be still too risky for them.
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That's an unhelpful exaggeration.

Their focus is where it always was - keeping the virus reproduction number under control.

This virus is so contagious that a reproduction number above 1 results in an exponential spread. In other words, it snowballs everywhere.

The cases figures for the past week are concerning.

As @Purple has said re-opening too soon would be a mistake and could lead to closures not only of pubs but to other businesses that have just recently re-opened.
 
Sophrosyne said:
As @Purple has said re-opening too soon would be a mistake and could lead to closures not only of pubs but to other businesses that have just recently re-opened.
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But who is going to pay for all these businesses kept closed indefinitely. Currently they borrowing it from the bond markets, it would be a mistake to assume that they can continue to pay for everything indefinitely from borrowing, there is a time limit on that despite what is going on with the virus and what the doctors say. We don't have a huge sovereign wealth fund where we can afford the luxury of forced business closures going on years.
 
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