Hotel manager won’t ask for Covid passes

HOTELIER Micheál Naughton, a native of Castleconnor in west Sligo, has vowed not to enforce the new Covid-19 hospitality regulations. In a stinging attack on the new plans Naughton, who is general manger of a major Letterkennybased hotel, said he would not act as a “guard” for the Government and refuse people entry to his hotel.

The Cabinet agreed on Monday night to plans which will see the reopening of indoor hospitality from next week.

Under the plan, people seeking to drink and dine indoors will have to show proof of being fully vaccinated or having recovered from Covid-19 within the past six months by way of a QR code sent out by the Government.

Mr Naughton, pictured right, said: “Our biggest market in the hospitality sector in Donegal comes from Northern Ireland but they are not going to have a cert.

Who is going to police this? Am I going to put people on the door? “I want to put it on the record that our hotel will not implement it. I am not going to be a guard enforcing this, and I am not going to discriminate against people.

“It’s not viable or possible to run a business the way they are thinking.” Naughton, a member of Donegal County Council, claimed the country was being run by civil servants who had very little knowledge of businesses or how they were run.

Mr Naughton said he wondered how anyone could come up with a proposal like this, adding: “I appreciate Covid is still an issue, but I cannot get how someone can think this is a solution. If that was the case why did they leave them closed?

“To me this is nothing short of discrimination, yet they are going to let people into the country.

“Nobody is going to supervise them and on July 19 Britain is basically going to open up.”