Aoife Moore: Government fails to join the dots in our big ‘outdoor summer’ 

The latest controversy over outdoor drinking is not remotely surprising from a Government that has consistently proved to be short-sighted and reactive. It would be comical if it weren’t all so depressing

Aoife Moore: The inability to join up the dots and look at problems practically has been the worst habit of this coalition Government, shuffling from one fallout to the next.

Only a country in which officials chained public spaces closed during a pandemic could be two weeks into its “outdoor summer” before realising that pubs might be breaking the law.

Gardaí have informed the Government that hospitality businesses, which have dutifully moved their business on to the street, might not even be licensed to do so, causing more stress to a sector already on its knees – and most of us who watch the Government closely aren’t even remotely surprised.