“Does the virus know you’re in a licensed premises?”
Newstalk presenter Kieran Cuddihy has strongly criticised government proposals to implement a 105 minute time limit on indoor dining for vaccinated patrons, telling listeners that it does “not make any sense.”
“If everybody is fully vaccinated in a pub or a restaurant, why should there be a 105 minute time limit?” he asked on the Hard Shoulder.
“It does not make a lick of sense, and I’d love for somebody out there to try and make a lick of sense of this time limit.
“Cabinet are discussing it…expected to approve that 105 minute time limit as we speak, and it is nonsense.”
Cuddihy said he had tried to understand it, but that he could not do so.
“Even if you think the rules are too extreme or not extreme enough, at least the rules should stand up to scrutiny and there should be some rationality underpinning them,” he insisted.
“There is no rationality underpinning a 105 minute time limit as far as I can see.”
The HSE, he explained, say multiple households can mix and mingle indoors once vaccinated, and that no rules apply in that situation “unless that indoor space is a pub or a restaurant.”
“Then suddenly you’ve all got to spread out, separated by plexiglass, you’re a metre apart and 105 minutes later you’ve all got to leave again.”
“Do the vaccines stop working after 105 minutes? Does the virus know you’re in a licensed premises?
“If everyone in the pub or restaurant is vaccinated, why is there a time limit?
“Can somebody out there point me to the science which says ‘105 minutes good, 106 minutes bad’?”
'It is nonsense' @kierancuddihy gives his opinion on the possible 105 minute time limit on indoor dining on @TheHardShoulder. pic.twitter.com/0tbv6D5mg4
— NewstalkFM (@NewstalkFM) July 12, 2021
Although not discussed in the segment, the issue of only permitting vaccinated people to enjoy indoor dining remains divisive among Dáil representatives, with Mattie McGrath telling the government last week that vaccine passports “will pit families against each other as to who has a vaccine and who has not.”
“This is outrageous and we are not even going to have a debate on it,” he said.
Mattie McGrath demands a full debate in the Dáil before the summer break on the introduction of medical apartheid to Ireland through vaccine passports. #covid19Ireland pic.twitter.com/Rc5VrVPamM
— JRD (@JRD0000) July 6, 2021
Cabinet have confirmed this morning that only vaccinated persons will be allowed to dine indoors from next week, with restaurants, pubs and cafés expected to check diners’ vaccinations status or proof of having recovered from Covid-19, along with their personal ID.