Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 30 June 2020
4. Deputy Verona Murphy asked the Taoiseach if he will clarify the public health guidelines in relation to gatherings for weddings and the numbers permissible in places of worship including wedding celebrations, to allow persons to properly plan and manage their weddings. [13259/20]
View answerIn line with the advice of the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control, NPHET recommended that for the duration of phase 3 (which commenced on 29 June), indoor and outdoor mass gatherings (including religious events and family events such as weddings) be restricted to 50 and 200 respectively, bearing in mind the following:
- Mass gatherings should be organised in advance to enable adequate planning by organisers so that prevention and control measures can be implemented, and physical distancing can be maintained so as to reduce the risk of transmission and avoid strain on health services;
- The mass gatherings numbers listed above are total numbers of people at mass gathering events including organisers, participants and attendees;
- Mass gatherings operating in line with the limits above should comply with the Public Health Checklist and physical distancing, having regard to the size of the venue;
- Adopting a cautious approach considering the high risk infection spread at mass gatherings, it is recommended that marquees etc be considered indoor venues for the purposes of these mass gatherings restrictions.
These limits will be increased to 100 (indoor) and 500 (outdoor) in phase 4.
However, concerns have been raised regarding the 50 person restriction for indoor gatherings in the context of religious services. In light of this, Government decided to exempt places of worship from the regulations restricting numbers on mass gatherings. The exemption applies to places of worship only and not to any gatherings that may take place after the religious ceremony such as wedding receptions.
Work is ongoing on new COVID-19 Guidance for Religious Services by the HSE/Health Protection Surveillance Centre. This will require plans to be developed for managing attendance at each premises, including an assessment to determine how many people can attend services within the requirements of social distancing.
