{"id":23853,"date":"2021-11-07T13:07:00","date_gmt":"2021-11-07T18:07:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/irishexaminerusa.com\/wp\/?p=23853"},"modified":"2021-11-08T10:11:34","modified_gmt":"2021-11-08T15:11:34","slug":"donnelly-favors-stricter-sanctions-on-businesses-not-checking-vaccination-status","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/irishexaminerusa.com\/wp\/?p=23853","title":{"rendered":"Donnelly Favors Stricter Sanctions On Businesses Not Checking Vaccination Status"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"\"
Minister for Health Stephen Donnelly said he favored the introduction of urgent and rapid sanctions for outlets that are not checking patrons for vaccine certification (PA)<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The Minister for Health has warned the hospitality industry that the Government intends to get \u201cvery serious\u201d about non-compliance with Covid-19 entry rules.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Stephen Donnelly said he favored the introduction of urgent and rapid sanctions for outlets that are not checking patrons for vaccine certification.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mr Donnelly also said the Government was considering subsidizing antigen testing for the wider population in Ireland.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He said rapid testing for close contacts in schools could be rolled out by Christmas.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Minister\u2019s comments on the hospitality sector come after the Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI) found that the number of outlets not asking customers for Covid-19 certification had almost doubled in a month.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The research, published last week, found that 37 per cent of indoor diners in pubs said they were not asked for certification, compared with 21 per cent the previous month.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For restaurants, 34 per cent of diners said they were not asked for their Digital Covid Cert.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mr Donnelly said that while the Cabinet had not decided how to respond to the increase in non-compliance, he favored more robust sanctions for offending outlets.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe need to get very serious with industry on that,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Minister for Health said the sector had assured the Government it could reopen safely and in compliance with the law.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI want to acknowledge that the majority of pubs, restaurants and hospitality outlets are doing that,\u201d he told RT\u00c9 Radio One.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cHowever, many aren\u2019t and the ESRI are saying the number that are refusing to obey the law is increasing. I think that\u2019s a very serious issue.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe Taoiseach, my understanding, is going to be meeting with the hospitality sector, and that large minority who are not following the law, who are putting people\u2019s lives at risk, I think they have very serious questions to answer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cA targeted approach is the way to go. We shouldn\u2019t be penalizing the many hospitality outlets who are doing exactly the right thing and who are trading safely.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIf the industry, if that large minority, do not start doing the right thing I certainly would be in favor of more rapid sanctions against not the industry, but the outlets who are not doing the right thing.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On calls from industry representatives for more spot checks by authorities, the Mr Donnelly said thousands of inspections were already taking place and more were planned.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBut I don\u2019t believe that the industry should be blaming Government for the industry not obeying the law,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI believe there is a serious onus on these organizations to engage with their members and make sure that there is compliance.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On the prospect of subsidized antigen testing for the wider population, Mr Donnelly said the proposal was being reviewed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cSubsidized antigen testing is one of the things that we are certainly looking at, it is already playing a very serious role,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The minister said Ireland had also signed up to an EU procurement process for recently developed antiviral drugs, but the initiative was dependent on authorization from the European Medicines Agency.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mr Donnelly said that while Ireland was experiencing a serious increase in case numbers among younger age groups, transmission levels in older cohorts had either levelled off or were starting to fall.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He urged people to reduce their discretionary social contacts and expressed confidence the Government\u2019s Covid strategy would result in the suppression of the current wave of the virus.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He said hospital admission rates had stabilized and intensive care admissions had fallen over the last week.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThat\u2019s very, very encouraging,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mr Donnelly said he would favor booster jabs being more widely rolled out across the population.<\/p>\n

Share this:<\/h3>