Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 9 December 2020
190. Deputy Eoghan Murphy asked the Minister for Health if Covid-19 restrictions for weddings will remain constant in relation to specifics, for example, music and dancing at the various levels (details supplied). [42376/20]
View answer194. Deputy Noel Grealish asked the Minister for Health the public health rationale for the reason wedding bands had previously been allowed under level 3 restrictions but are not allowed currently under level 3 restrictions; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [42206/20]
View answer225. Deputy Neale Richmond asked the Minister for Health if consideration has been given to allowing live music at weddings under level 3; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [42403/20]
View answer244. Deputy Niamh Smyth asked the Minister for Health if he will review correspondence (details supplied); his plans to review the matters raised; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [42497/20]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 190, 194, 225 and 244 together.
Ireland is now at level 3 of the Government's medium-term Plan Resilience and Recovery 2020-2021: Plan for Living with COVID-19, which sets out Ireland's approach to managing and living with COVID-19 in a range of areas over a period of 6 – 9 months.
The Plan aims to allow society and businesses to operate as normally as possible, while protecting our key priorities of supporting and maintaining health and social care services, keeping education and childcare services open and protecting the most vulnerable members of our communities.
The various limits at all levels in the Government's Plan are all designed to reduce the number of households mixing with each other and cut down the virus’s chances of spreading into more homes. It seeks to balance the risks of different types of gatherings against the desire to allow normal activities to proceed in so far as possible.
As I'm sure you can appreciate, COVID-19 spreads when individuals and groups come into close contact with one another, enabling the virus to move from one person to another. COVID-19 is infectious in a person with no symptoms, or for the period of time before they develop symptoms. In certain settings, such as weddings, higher noise levels due to music, can force people into close proximity, requiring them to raise their voices or shout to communicate thus increasing the risk of spreading virus to others. Dancing is not permitted given the close contact involved. Such activities present a higher risk of transmission of Covid-19.
Details of the public health measures in place for weddings at level 3 can be found at:- https://www.gov.ie/en/publication/ad569-level-3/
Guidance for religious services can be found at:- https://www.gov.ie/en/publication/7ba40-guidance-for-religious-services/
You may also wish to note that Fáilte Ireland has provided guidelines for the hospitality industry which includes guidance on weddings and is available at: - https://failtecdn.azureedge.net/failteireland/Guidelines-for-Re-opening-Hotels-and-Guesthouses.pdf
