Q&A: Reopening: where are restrictions still in operation?

Live music can resume at weddings from Monday, with an update to Fáilte Ireland guidelines due to be agreed upon. Dancing will be allowed from the same date.

The Government will end the vast majority of restrictions from October 22, as the country returns to a semblance of normality.

The announcement of the roadmap out of restrictions has been welcomed broadly; however, some are frustrated at a perceived lack of clarity around certain areas. 

Here are some of the key questions that have been answered. 

When can we dance at weddings?

Live music can resume at weddings from Monday, with an update to Fáilte Ireland guidelines due to be agreed upon. The good news to go with that is that dancing will be allowed from the same date. Taoiseach Micheál Martin confirmed that the statutory bar to dancing will be lifted to allow for dancefloors at weddings from next week.

Indeed, dancing will be permitted at indoor and outdoor events, though not in pubs where it will remain outlawed until October 22. In terms of numbers, weddings will remain at 100 until October but after that will have unlimited numbers with no bar on vaccine status.

Can I throw out my vaccine passport?

Not just yet, and not if you want to travel abroad. From October 22, the requirement to show the passport at any indoor event will be ended. This will open up all indoor hospitality to full capacity. However, the passport will still be needed to travel abroad and this will likely remain the case for several months at the discretion of the EU.

Who isn't happy about the announcement?

The slow pace of reopening nightclubs has continued to frustrate that industry. Indeed, they will not open until October 22, all going well, though there are plans for a pilot event in September. The October date, however, does come with no restrictions on capacity, meaning that everywhere from the smallest nightclubs to the 3Arena can be full to capacity in around 50 days.

What about maternity and hospital restrictions?

Another section of society not happy with the announcement was those seeking an end to maternity visiting restrictions. While the Taoiseach said that the Government stands unanimously behind the HSE guidance that restrictions should be largely lifted, he stressed that clinical autonomy at hospitals was crucial. This means that even as the HSE gets ready to issue new guidance, some hospitals will keep their own counsel and will set their own rules.

What if case numbers get really high?

The main caveat which the Government was keen to impress on Tuesday was that the new era of personal judgement comes with an emergency brake. While case numbers alone have ceased to be a key metric for the Government, Tánaiste Leo Varadkar said that "if we were facing very serious situations in our hospitals" come the winter, the plan could be slowed down.