Varadkar: Pubs may not reopen in 2020

With pubs not due to open for at least three more weeks, they will pass the 200-day mark of  closure under Covid-19 restrictions.

Tánaiste Leo Varadkar has admitted he cannot say with certainty that pubs will open this year, as vintners derided the €16m Government supports for the sector as "crumbs".

However, Mr Varadkar repeatedly pointed out that Ireland is the only country in Europe where wet pubs are closed, echoing a talking point within Fine Gael over recent days and hinting at frustration that the economy has not opened as quickly as envisaged.