Martin: Outdoor activity to be the key theme this summer 

Taoiseach Micheál Martin said the country will “not be letting rip” during the summer and that the priority will be to allow people to do more things outdoors.

Outdoor activity will be one of the key themes of the summer, Taoiseach Micheál Martin has said as a further easing of Covid-19 restrictions comes into effect today.

Mr Martin said the country will “not be letting rip” during the summer and that the priority will be to allow people to do more things outdoors.

Outdoor sports facilities such as golf courses and tennis courts are now able to reopen, along with zoos, pet farms and heritage sites. Non-contact outdoor training for underage sports can resume in pods of 15 while the number of people who can attend a funeral can increase from 10 to 25.

Responding to comments from chief medical officer Tony Holohan that indoor events would not be possible, Mr Martin said the Government will proceed on a scientific basis.

“We're going to continue to follow the science and of course, outdoor is the key for the summer. Government is committed to that [so] that is the Government's position as well,” he said.

“We know that outdoor is less harmful in the context of the spread of this virus than indoor,” he said.

Mr Martin said he could absolutely understand that hospitality sector livelihoods are at stake and that clarity on indoor activity is important as quickly as possible.

“It's been devastated as a result of this pandemic. But what I said at the outset is anything we open we want to keep open. We want to end this start-stop approach and many people in different sectors have said that to us,” he said.

In terms of vaccines, Mr Martin said the progress made on vaccine rollout is encouraging, but when pressed on delivery of the one million doses per month, he said “May and June were always going to be the heavy months” in terms of delivery.

On the digital green cert, Ireland will be part of the European Union approach, and a policy group has been set up in his department to work out the policy aspects of it, he said.

Mr Martin said by July there will be very significant levels of vaccination in Europe, so positions will change in terms of travel advice.

“I don't believe we can seal off Ireland forever. We just can't. We're an interconnected island and we're a global island in terms of economy, in terms of our society, and in terms of our people. So by July, we will have very significant numbers of people vaccinated,” he said.

He said the Government will be examining retail, hairdressers, religious services and adult sports' training in the coming days and a formal announcement will be made after the Cabinet meets on Thursday.

Mr Martin and Foreign Affairs Minister Simon Coveney said India will be added to the mandatory quarantine list with a decision likely early this week.