Ireland

Coronavirus: Shops to reopen in Republic and travel allowed within own county from Monday

Grafton Street in Dublin. All shops in the Republic can reopen from Monday. Picture by Brian Lawless, Press Association
Grafton Street in Dublin. All shops in the Republic can reopen from Monday. Picture by Brian Lawless, Press Association Grafton Street in Dublin. All shops in the Republic can reopen from Monday. Picture by Brian Lawless, Press Association

The Irish government is to relax lockdown restrictions to allow people to travel within their own county.

The cabinet has decided to further relax measures which had been outlined in phase two of the roadmap to open up the economy. 

The Irish government has approved plans to move to phase two on Monday, Taoiseach Leo Varadkar announced this afternoon.

People will be allowed to travel anywhere inside their own county, rather than just be limited to 20 kilometres from their home.  

READ MORE: Irish government slogan to change from 'stay home' to 'stay local' from MondayOpens in new window ]

People living in border areas will be able to travel up to 20km into another county.

Bed and breakfasts, hotels, caravan parks, galleries and museums can reopen from June 29.

Shopping centres could also be allowed to reopen from June 15.

However, retailers have been asked to stagger their opening hours.

Taoiseach Leo Varadkar said phase two of the roadmap would be triggered on Monday as scheduled.

But he said a series of other measures, originally envisaged for later phases of the plan, would also be given the green light from next week.

From Monday, people will be allowed to visit the homes of those cocooning, as long as personal protective equipment (PPE) and social distancing are used.

Up to four people will also be allowed to visit other households, while sports teams could resume non-contact training in small groups.

The Government has also announced a series of additional measures for children and older people, with plans for visiting to resume at care homes and permission for playgroups and summer camps to operate.

Taoiseach Leo Varadkar
Taoiseach Leo Varadkar Taoiseach Leo Varadkar

Phase three is scheduled for June 29, when hotels and other tourism accommodation can reopen.

All travel restrictions will also lift on that date.

Phase four, which will contain all remaining measures in the roadmap, is planned for July 20.

The Taoiseach said restrictions on large gatherings would continue into the autumn.

Mr Varadkar made the announcement in an address to the nation this afternoon.

He described the measures being introduced on Monday as "phase two plus".

"I've always said we would accelerate the reopening our country but only if it was safe to do so," he said.

"Thanks to your actions we have now reached that point.

"And with your help, we'll keep moving forward.

"So we all need to stick to what we've been doing right."

The coronavirus death toll in the Republic rose to 1,664 on Thursday, after a further five deaths were announced.

There were 38 new confirmed cases of Covid-19, taking the total since the outbreak began to 25,142.

Mr Varadkar said he had informed the leaders of the Northern Ireland Executive about the plans before making them public.

The Taoiseach hailed the Irish public's adherence to the restrictions during lockdown.

"Thanks to your perseverance in pushing back Covid-19, I am announcing an acceleration of the roadmap," he said.

"Over the last few months fear has exerted a kind of gravity pulling us down, but now we find there is hope lifting us up again.

"During this emergency we have suffered as a country, lost loved ones, and changed the way that we work and live.

"We are making progress.

"We are heading in the right direction.

"And we have earned the right to be hopeful about the future again."

Meanwhile, Mr Varadkar said no date has been confirmed to resume air travel.

He added: "I would encourage people not to go booking flights just yet, that would be premature."

He also said that hairdressers, barbers and nail bars will remain shut until the final phase on July 20.

"Everyone would really like to see them open as soon as possible but as of now that remain in phase four and that is for very good reason," he added.

The Cabinet made the decisions after receiving advice from experts on the National Public Health Emergency Team.

Mr Varadkar said ministers had also considered Government reports on the economic and social impact of Covid-19.