Inspections by Gardaí have found 26 pubs to be in breach of health regulations laid out as part of phase 3 of the lifting of lockdown restrictions.
Under current guidelines, pubs are allowed to serve alcohol to people who are ordering a meal of at least €9 at the same time. Large groups are also not permitted to be sitting at the same table and pubs should have social distancing advisory signage on their premises.
Since the beginning of phase 3 on June 29, Gardaí have carried out 6,830 checks on almost 3,000 licensed premises and have found 26 pubs to be in breach of the regulations. Most of these pubs were found not to be serving food along with alcohol and could not show receipts to prove that food had been sold.
Deputy Garda Commissioner John Twomey has stated that while the vast majority of pubs are acting in compliance with regulations, he is concerned that the minority are putting the health of the public at risk.
Earlier this week,
Taoiseach Micheál Martin said that if businesses continue to flout guidelines, the scheduled July 20 date to reopen pubs that don't serve food could be pushed back.
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