The government has approved a revised Roadmap for Reopening Society and Business, with most activity now being moved to Phase 3, beginning on Monday June 29.

The revised Phase 3 includes the reopening of churches and places of worship, gyms, theatres, cinemas, leisure facilities, and hairdressers and barber shops.

From June 29 all sporting activities, including close contact sports, can recommence including team leagues for adults and children. However, spectator numbers will be limited to 50 people indoors and 200 people outdoors.

“If the presence of the virus remains low, this will rise to 100 people indoors and 500 people outdoors in Phase 4,” said Taoiseach Leo Varadkar (pictured).

Varadkar, who will leave the Taoiseach role on June 27 if Green Party members approve the proposed Programme for Government, added:

In Association with

“Many people have asked to how quickly we can bounce back and how long it will take before the economy returns to where it was before, with a job for everyone who wants one, poverty in decline, and incomes on the rise. The truth is we cannot know for sure.

"Some have asked whether there is a limit to what we can achieve. My answer is that the limit does not exist. We have been here before and we know the way out. We know what needs to be done and the next Roadmap will be a Roadmap for Economic Recovery, the National Recovery Plan.

“In years to come we will never forget how the world was upended in 2020. Never again will we take something as simple as a haircut for granted, or time spent with parents or grandparents, or meeting friends for a drink.

"The mission of the next government will be to repair all that has been damaged by this crisis. If we carry forward in the same spirit of solidarity, determination and hope then we have nothing to fear. Nothing is beyond us. As a nation, we have been through a shared experience and as we move forward, we will never forget what we have lost, what we have learned and what we have gained."

Restart Dates

There was no concession from government on the two-metre social distancing diktat that hospitality and leisure enterprises say make their business not viable.

Phase 4 is the final stage of lifting lockdown restrictions, from Monday July 20. From this date pubs, bars, hotel bars and casinos will be permitted to reopen, and gatherings of up to 100 people indoors and 500 outdoors will be permissible.

From June 29, lockdown restrictions cease for all adult education facilities; creches, childminding facilities and pre-schools; summer camps; youth clubs; and all indoor and outdoor amenities for children.

June 29 is also the restart date for:
• Wellbeing services such as chiropractic, massage therapy, acupuncture, reflexology and homoeopathy.
• Hairdressers, barbers, nail and brow salons, beauty salons, spas, make-up application services, tanning, tattooing and piercing services.
• Driving schools.
• All remaining retail (e.g. bookmakers), services and commercial activities.
• Cafés and restaurants providing on premises food & beverages.
• Pubs and hotel bars operating as restaurants.
• Hotels, hostels, caravan parks and holiday parks.
• Museums, galleries, theatres, concert halls and other cultural outlets.
• Cinemas, music venues (excluding nightclubs and discos), leisure facilities, bingo halls, arcades, skating rinks, amusements parks.

From June 29, tourist travel to offshore islands may resume. Tour, event and private bus use, and vehicle hire may recommence too, the government has decided.

Pix: Julien Behal