The Health Amendment (2) Bill 2021 – was approved by Cabinet on Monday evening. It will enable the reopening of pubs, cafes, restaurants and other licensed premises “safely, sustainably and in line with public health advice”, said the Tánaiste Leo Varadkar.
He said the plan was to allow those under age 18 to attend indoor hospitality with their parent or guardian even though they were not vaccinated which meant social distancing rules would continue to apply indoors as they did last summer.
Those who are vaccinated or have recovered from Covid-19 in the past six months will have to show proof of this to access indoor hospitality.The Government’s new Digital Covid Certificates (DCC), which Ireland and other EU countries are implementing, can be used by members of the public as evidence of being fully vaccinated, or other medical documentation.
People who are caught trying to use fake passes to access indoor hospitality services face a fine of up to €2,000. The penalty is included in the proposed legislation.The law is to initially be in place for three months. However, it can be extended beyond this depending on the situation with the spread of Covid-19 at the time.