DUBLIN (IRELAND) – A senior Irish minister said on Tuesday that the government was planning to allow the reopening of all pubs on Sept. 21.
Since June, bars serving food were allowed to reopen under stringent regulations after health officials opined that they had a safer atmosphere compared to pubs serving only liquor.
This had sparked small protests from pub owners, whose establishments have been shuttered since March.
Pubs will be allowed to function with strict regulations such as a requirement for table service.
“What we are not proposing to do on Sept. 21 is to reopen pubs, packed bars, crowded places. We’re talking about allowing a pub to reopen with table service and not serve chicken goujons to justify it,” Simon Harris, minister for Higher Education and Science, said.