Indoor dining bookings to be limited to six people aged over 13 Time limit of 105 minutes to apply unless two metres between tables, under new guidelines
Wed, May 26, 2021, 13:21 Updated: Wed, May 26, 2021, 13:48
The Fáilte Ireland guidelines were approved by the Department of Taoiseach and will be part of the Government’s wider plan for reopening due to be announced on Friday. File photograph: iStock
Customers who dine indoor in pubs, restaurants and cafes when they reopen will be given 105 minutes per booking if there is a distance of less than two metres between tables.
Under new guidelines published on Wednesday morning, bookings will allow for a maximum of six people aged 13 or over per table. This limit of six does not include accompanying children aged 12 or younger. The total combined capacity at a table cannot exceed 15 overall.
The document gives no indication of how long the measures will apply for.
Indoor
There s no firm date for the return of indoor restaurants yet, the guidelines also explain what will be required when they do reopen.
They say physical distancing of two metres should be maintained between tables in an indoor setting, but that can be reduced to one metre where all other risk mitigation measures - such as plexiglass barriers and limits on crowd sizes - are met.
However, there ll be a time limit of 105 minutes and a pre-booking requirement.
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Time limits to be imposed on indoor dining Time limits will return when indoor dining resumes later in the summer.
Fáilte Ireland is publishing its guidelines for the hospitality sector later and it’s expected to include a one hour and 45 minute time limit for indoor visits to pubs and restaurants.
However, there will be no limit for outdoor dining.
Adrian Cummins from the Restaurants Association of Ireland says they can work with this. Last year it worked extremely well for the hospitality industry, you had the guidelines, we implemented them as best we could. We re looking forward to these being published so people can start to plan and prepare for reopening when we get a date to reopen for restaurants and gastro pubs and coffee shops across the country.
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There is expected to be time limits on visits to pubs and restaurants when indoor dining returns.
Fáilte Ireland will publish its guidelines for the return of hospitality both outdoors and indoors later.
Tables are expected to be a minimum of one metre apart with the €9 substantial meal to be scrapped.
The main difference between indoor and outdoor will be time limits on visits.
People who visit pubs or restaurants indoors are expected to be kept to a time limit. The indications are that the guidelines will be, there or thereabouts, the same as last year for indoor hospitality, said Restaurants Association of Ireland CEO Adrian Cummins.