A bid by the Restaurants Association of Ireland and three restaurants, including Boxty House in Dublin’s Temple Bar, to challenge “irrational” regulations permitting indoor dining within hotels while preventing indoor dining in non-hotel commercial restaurants has been adjourned at the High Court to later this month. Since then, no firm date has been set for the reopening of indoor dining in non-hotel commercial restaurants but discussions between the affected parties are continuing. In an affidavit, RAI chief executive Adrian Cummins said its members have been “greatly disadvantaged and are incurring major economic loss by reason of the irrational regulations”. Other concerns include the regulations fail to have any regard to the nature, size or ventilation of indoor restaurant facilities, whether in hotels or elsewhere, he outlined. Another complaint is the regulations permit hotel guests to freely mingle among themselves while using indoor restaurant facilities when families and households cannot dine together in non-hotel restaurants.

Source: Irish Examiner July 08, 2021 11:00 UTC