A proposal to develop a system that would permit only people who are fully vaccinated against Covid-19 to eat and drink inside bars and restaurants has been slammed.
The Cabinet will meet this morning to consider the proposal.
If it goes ahead it would mean a delay in the overall reopening for a number of weeks.
A full announcement on the overall opening situation is expected to be announced this evening.
The Cabinet Covid Committee met late last night as it sought to formulate a recommendation for this morning’s meeting of Government.
The Government aims to have a plan ready by mid-July that would lay the foundations for the return of indoor hospitality.
It would see fully vaccinated people getting clearance to spend time inside pubs and restaurants.
This follows a recommendation from the National Public Health Emergency Team that indoor hospitality, apart from hotels, should be confined to this group.
NPHET presented some stark warnings to Government last night – the most severe of which predicted hundreds of thousands of cases between July and September and more than 2,000 deaths as a result of Covid-19.
However, non-essential international travel does look on course to resume on 19 July and the Cabinet is expected to give the green light to increasing the number of wedding guests to 50 next month.
But all other planned easing of restrictions around indoor gatherings look set to be paused.
The CEO of the Restaurants Association of Ireland has said businesses across the country will be devastated by the news that there is a potential delay to the resumption of indoor hospitality.
Speaking on RTÉ’s Morning Ireland, Adrian Cummins said the plan to allow fully vaccinated people dine indoors is “discriminatory and unworkable”.