‘STOP DIGGING’ ON PUB FIASCO
THE Taoiseach has been urged to ‘stop digging’ by one of his own TDs as the Government furiously backtracked yesterday over new rules that force restaurants and pubs to record what their customers eat.
There was a fierce backlash on Thursday when news of the temporary new measures emerged requiring restaurants and pubs serving food to retain records of all food orders for 28 days.
It prompted Taoiseach Micheál Martin to come out yesterday and state that the Government has ‘no interest in finding out what people are eating’. But he and his ministers
were accused by one of their own TDs, Marc MacSharry, as well as a respected senior counsel, of sending out mixed messages on the legislation.
The Fianna Fáil deputy urged them to ‘stop digging’ on the issue in a text message he sent while Health Minister Stephen Donnelly was being interviewed about the new rules on RTÉ News at One.
Tánaiste Leo Varadkar had also insisted there was no requirement for restaurants or pubs that are serving food to keep records of what everyone eats, and said they only had to produce evidence that a substantial meal was served.
However, Mr MacSharry insisted this is not what is stated in the legisation, and that publicans and restaurateurs could be fined or even face up to six months in jail if they fail to abide by the new laws.
The Irish Daily Mail has seen text messages sent by Mr MacSharry to the Taoiseach and senior Fianna Fáil ministers yesterday where he insisted the legislation explicitly states restaurants and pubs do have to retain customer records of all food purchases for 28 days.
The messages, which were sent during Minister Donnelly’s interview, insisted the Government message that it was just receipts that needed to be kept was wrong. ‘Taoiseach, Ministers, Just listened to Minister Donnelly. See section C of the Statutory Instrument above. Explicit on substantial meal details for each member of the party. It is not just “keep the receipt”. Regardless of stated intention on News at 1 the Statutory Instrument is explicit and carries a penal sanction if not met so adjust the Statutory
‘A sledgehammer to crack a nut’
Instrument. In other words stop digging,’ he wrote.
Mr MacSharry sent a further text when Minister Donnelly told RTÉ that the National Public Health Emergency Team recommended the €9 substantial meal rule.
‘Minister Donnelly has informed the nation that NPHET recommended the €9 meal, [acting Chief Medical Officer] Ronan Glynn told the Covid Committee they didn’t last week they didn’t, so which isn’t [sic]?’ he asked.
On RTÉ’s News at One yesterday, Minister Donnelly said the ‘food records’ rule didn’t really apply to restaurants, and were aimed at targeting rogue pubs.
He said: ‘The measure is being brought in to protect the restaurants and pubs from the tiny minority of pubs that are not serving food. It is just the till receipts that they already print out and keep. And really, it does not apply to restaurants. Because restaurants, by definition, their main business is serving food.
‘No one is ever going to question if a restaurant is serving food. This is really just for the very small minority of pubs who are serving alcohol and flouting the rules.’
But Adrian Cummins, chief executive of the Restaurants Association of Ireland, told the Mail that despite the Minister’s reassurances, his members were still bound by the new rules. ‘The problem is there is a statutory instrument now. It is a legal requirement, with penal provisions. That’s the problem,’ he said.
Asked if the rules meant that restaurants had to put customers’ names to till receipts, Mr Cummins said simply: ‘I don’t know.
‘There is confusion, because we have fallen down on communication as a country.’ Galway chef JP McMahon described the records measure as ‘absolute madness’. Mr McMahon, who runs Aniar, Cava Bodega and Eat Gastropub, said: ‘I am losing faith in this Government’s ability to provide a roadmap that gives stability to our industry. It shows a clear lack of understanding and an absence of care... I am so annoyed. We’re barely surviving and now they want us to hire more people to collect data on customers.’
Hotel Doolin, in Co. Clare, has said it will not be abiding by the
new guidelines. In a social media post, it said: ‘Dear Minister Donnelly, Hotel Doolin will not be recording what our customers have to eat for their breakfast, lunch and dinner as we working people have enough to be doing trying our best to keep our business open and everybody safe without following nonsensical laws.’
Its general manager, Donal Minihan, said there was utter confusion in the industry with Government departments contradicting each other.
Senior counsel Constance Cassidy told RTÉ’s Drivetime: ‘The publican or restaurateur under Section 13 must make a full record of a substantial meal or all substantial meals ordered by each member of a party or persons. Those records must be retained by the publican for a period of 28 days... if he [publican or restaurateur] commits an offence, or if it is a case that he is prosecuted he is liable to six months imprisonment and/or a fine of €2,500 for each and every single offence.’ She said of the legislation: ‘It seems to me that it’s a sledgehammer to crack a nut.’ Several hours after Mr MacSharry wrote to Mr Martin, the Taoiseach attempted to downplay the controversy to gathered reporters – insisting the legislation had been ‘misinterpreted and was misrepresented completely’ as if the Government were trying to investigate what people were eating.
‘That was never the case. We have no interest in really finding out what people are eating but what we do have to do is protect existing businesses who were obeying the rules that’s important,’ he said.
When contacted by the Mail about the correspondence, Mr MacSharry said: ‘What we’ve heard unfortunately from Minister Donnelly on the News at One is that, “no, this is just about keeping a receipt, nothing more”. ‘The Tánaiste [Leo Varadkar] seemed to say the same. Unfortunately, legally that is not the case. The statutory instrument is explicit, and this seems to have been confirmed by the senior counsel Constance Cassidy on RTÉ radio this evening.’
Mr MacSharry said the Government’s new message – that it was all a misunderstanding – is not reflected in the legislation.
The Taoiseach conceded to the Mail that communications ‘could have been better’ around the measures that were approved by Cabinet on Tuesday and published online that night.
Minister for Higher Education, Simon Harris, agreed yesterday there had been ‘a lack of clarity’ about this rule.
‘Lack of clarity’ about the rule