Government to publish new roadmap for ending Covid restrictions in coming weeks

Taoiseach Micheál Martin, meanwhile, said 'further clarity' was needed on outdoor events before last week

File picture of Micheál Martin. The Taoiseach said that personal responsibility would be key to tackling the Delta wave of Covid-19. Picture: Sasko Lazarov/RollingNews.ie

The Taoiseach has admitted that "further clarity and consistency" was needed regarding outdoor events before last week.

Micheál Martin issued a statement over the weekend, breaking his silence on the Merrion Hotel event held by former children's minister Katherine Zappone and attended by Tánaiste Leo Varadkar.

Mr Martin said that the Tánaiste had “expressed his regret at attending the Merrion Hotel outdoor event”.

In an interview with RTÉ on Friday, Mr Varadkar said that he had "let his guard down" in attending the event.

Mr Martin's statement said that further clarity on events, which came in the form of new Fáilte Ireland guidelines on Friday, was needed. Mr Martin said that in the coming weeks, personal responsibility would be key to tackling the Delta wave of Covid-19.

"In relation to the events of last week, the Tánaiste expressed his regret at attending the Merrion Hotel outdoor event," he said.

While the event did not breach regulations, the Government accepts that further clarity and consistency on guidelines was required. As we move forward, personal responsibility will be a key factor."

However, Mr Martin's statement has been met coolly from within his own party, with a number of TDs questioning why the Taoiseach was "out to bat" for the Tánaiste when Fine Gael ministers had not done the same. 

In Fine Gael, sources said that there was a "lack of momentum" behind Mr Varadkar over the issue. One Fine Gael TD said that work needs to be done to repair the party's image after "a poor few months".

Government chief whip Jack Chambers.

Government chief whip Jack Chambers, meanwhile, said that it had "not been a good week" for the Government. 

He told RTÉ Radio that the Merrion event and last year's Oireachtas Golf Society event, which saw the resignation of then-agriculture minister Dara Calleary were "different events, so the outcome is different".

I think we have to learn lessons around this where you have ambiguity and contradiction between regulations and guidelines."

Mr Chambers said that the Government will publish a new roadmap for ending Covid restrictions in the coming weeks. Government sources said that this will likely mean broader, more simplified advice on hospitality and events. This would see things like advice around weddings scrapped, allowing those occasions to fall under the broader scope of indoor events.

The roadmap would also focus on the reopening of arts and cultural venues on a wider basis, as confidence grows in the Government around the pace of vaccinations.