Covid-19: Irish drink-only pubs to reopen from 21 September

The Irish government has agreed that pubs that do not serve food will be able to reopen from 21 September.

The reopening will be subject to possible local restrictions if case numbers rise.

The move will put pressure on the Stormont Executive to reopen non-food bars in Northern Ireland.

Draft guidelines, which were drawn up in conjunction with tourism body Fáilte Ireland, were circulated last weekend.

They are broadly the same as those that have been brought in for pubs where food is being served.

These include keeping customer records for contact tracing purposes and time slots that are limited to one hour and 45 minutes where physical distancing of one metre can be maintained.

However, time slots would not be a requirement where physical distancing of two metres can be "strictly maintained".

Last week, it was announced that pubs in the Republic of Ireland must keep records of the meals every customer orders for 28 days so they can be inspected by Gardaí (police) or health officials.

The move was described as "madness" by the Vintners' Federation of Ireland.

Representatives of Northern Ireland's pub industry met with Stormont ministers on Monday seeking "urgent" measures to help reopen non-food bars.

Drink-only bars which cannot trade due to Covid-19 restrictions are "losing thousands of pounds" weekly, according to Hospitality Ulster.

Its chief executive, Colin Neill, said many traditional pubs may never reopen unless the executive takes action soon.

When Stormont ministers set out their plan to ease the coronavirus lockdown over the summer, drinks-only bars were given an indicative date of 10 August for reopening.

But on 26 August, the executive announced that had to be postponed due to "increased transmission" of the virus in Northern Ireland.