Coronavirus: Fears of abuse as mask rules unclear

Pictured Chair of NPHET Irish Epidemiological Modelling Advisory Group Prof Philip Nolan, at the Department of Health in Dublin for the nightly briefing. Picture: Sam Boal/RollingNews.ie

Confusion reigns over who will enforce the new government requirement for people to wear face masks in retail outlets.

Shop owners claim their staff have already been assaulted, spat at and verbally abused during the pandemic.

They believe gardaí and other state agencies should provide support.

However, worker trade union Mandate says employers, not employees, should be responsible for enforcement, and gardaí do not yet know what their role will be as they wait for guidance from Government.

Retail groups fear violence and abuse from a minority of customers as patience with public health advice wanes.

James Mulligan, President of the Garda Representative Association (GRA) said that the lack of clarity from Government on the issue “is not good enough”.

He said the new regulations will "undoubtedly" create more work for gardaí who have already expressed frustration with the lack of clarity from the government on what is expected from them.

“We’re getting reports from our members of confusion. Not only do we need clarity before these things come into play but the public needs it as well."

Mr Mulligan called for a policing expert to be appointed to the National Public Health Emergency Team (NPHET) to prevent problems with new regulations and to facilitate smoother communications with gardaí.

“This is a difficult situation for everyone," he said.

The guards accept that they’ll have to go deal with it. It will increase the workload. But we’re in the dark. We haven’t been told anything officially.

Tara Buckley, Director General of the Retail Grocery Dairy and Allied Trades Association (RGDATA) which represents more than 4,000 independent shops here, said supports are needed for the sector to enforce the expected regulations.

Shop workers have already been punched, spat at and verbally abused by a small fraction of customers during the pandemic, and as patience with public health regulations wane, retail workers worry that they may face increased abuse.

“We know that 99% of people are good and will comply, and will bring their face masks. But the concern will be with that small minority which will cause problems,” Ms Buckley said. “We’re awaiting the guidance and regulations. For smaller shops, it’s difficult to be the policeman and the shop keeper. So it’s important that the support is there for enforcement.”

John Douglas, General Secretary of Mandate trade union, is concerned that enforcement does not fall on retail employees.

“It’s the employer’s role to actually enforce it," he said. “We don’t see it as a sales assistant's role to police the wearing of masks.

“But the regulations haven’t been published yet. We need to see them and we need to be involved in them. There have to be sanctions for those who do not comply, but six months in jail and a €2,500 fine sounds a bit draconian for running in for a bottle of milk."

A woman passing a pair of Permanent TSB ATM's on St Patrick's Street, Cork, wearing a facemask during the Covid-19 pandemic. Picture: Larry Cummins

Antoinette Cunningham, General Secretary of the Association of Garda Sergeants and Inspectors (AGSI) said that they have had no clarity either about the regulations for mandatory face coverings in retail outlets.

“In the absence of regulations we are unsure what role gardaí are expected to have in the policing of wearing face coverings at shops and retail outlets until the relevant regulations are published and a guidance document issued,” she said.

We’ve consistently said that the issuing of operational guidelines a couple of hours before the enforcement measures are to start is too late. They could and should be done earlier.

Meanwhile, the National Public Health Emergency Team (NPHET) warned that the country faces a “precarious and uncertain” situation after confirming 21 new Covid-19 cases and one further death and an increase in the reproductive number.

The total number of Covid-19 fatalities now stands at 1,749 and the number of cases at 25,698.

Professor Philip Nolan, who chairs the epidemiological modelling group, said the country faced a "precarious situation" for the next few weeks but there was an opportunity to bring the disease back under control.