When are Ireland's indoor pubs and restaurants now reopening? And will I need to be vaccinated?
Get the latest on lockdown - from pubs to holidays to jabs - by signing up to our FREE newsletter Invalid Email Something went wrong, please try again later. Sign up! Thank you for subscribing We have more newsletters Show me See our privacy notice  Rising case numbers of the Delta variant has caused the government to delay the reopening of indoor dining, which was planned to reopen on July 5. Taoiseach Michael Martin announced today that NPHET has advised the government to restrict indoor dining to allow only people who are fully vaccinated. He said, We are in a race between variants and vaccines and we want to do everything we can to make sure the vaccine wins.  The Taoiseach recognised that those working within the hospitality sector would be disappointed by the decision but said that the government were committed to a practical approach. Initially, there was speculation that the reopening would be postponed for two weeks until July 19. However, the cabinet has said it will delay the reopening of indoor dining until a workable plan for customers to prove they have been vaccinated is in place. The government had not been planning to introduce a system by which people can provide evidence of vaccination, so developing this will be a major task. The cabinet hopes to have this system up and running by July 19, but a decision will not be made on when indoor dining can resume until people have a way to prove they have been vaccinated. The government have an option of implementing two methods of proof of vaccination. The first method could see fully vaccinated people being asked to bring their vaccine certificate, which is the card given by their GP or at a vaccination centre alongside another form of photo ID. The second method could see Ireland adopting a system much like other EU countries similar to the EU Digital Covid Certificate. This would involve a person's covid status being visible on an app for staff to see. The app would show if a person has been vaccinated, has recovered from covid or has received a negative covid test within the past 72 hours. Other advice suggested that the government should trust people to make their own decision and will just issue advice that unvaccinated people should not avail of indoor dining. As it stands, Ireland is still planning to resume international travel on July 19.