A CAFÉ in Dublin says it "will not discriminate" against people who haven't been vaccinated against Covid-19 following the Government's controversial announcement on reopening hospitality.
On Tuesday, Taoiseach Micheál Martin revealed that pubs, restaurants and cafés won't be allowed to reopen indoor areas on July 5 as initially planned, and that once that eventually happens, only vaccinated individuals can come in.
The announcement went down like a lead balloon, with people across the nation slamming the decision for promoting segregation and being 'discriminatory'.
East Road Cafe, a popular dining spot in the East Wall area of the Irish capital, has since announced that they plan to open indoor dining to all customers, irrespective of whether they've been vaccinated.
"In light of the government's recent announcement, East Road Cafe will NOT discriminate against any of its customers," they wrote on social media.
"We stand 100% for inclusivity and equality. East Road Cafe is open to all."
The government's decision came off the back of advice fro NPHET who are concerned about the rise in the number of Delta variant cases in the country.
It's understood that the strain now makes up over half of all cases in the country.
While the delay is a real kick in the teeth for a hospitality sector which has been brought to its knees over the last 15 months, CEO of the Restaurants Association of Ireland Adrian Cummins insists that the proposed rules about only accepting vaccinated customers just adds to the chaos.
"Restaurant, Pub and Café Owners will now be placed in the unenviable, complex and difficult position of allowing vaccinated customers enter indoors and restricting non vaccinated customers to outdoor dining," he said on Tuesday.
"Such a practice of refusing access to goods and services in currently illegal under equality acts. The hospitality sector contains a diverse range of workers by age with front of house mostly the unvaccinated age groups, who will now be asked to refuse access to their peers?
"This makes no sense and will restrict indoor dining to those in the 40 - 60 age groups who are fully vaccinated whilst the hotel across the street has families and guests dining indoors since June 2."
