Under Level 5 of the Plan for Living with COVID-19, only essential retail outlets will remain open.
S.I. No. 448 of 2020 Health Act 1947 (Section 31A - Temporary Restrictions) (COVID-19) (No. 8) Regulations 2020 clearly sets out the temporary restrictions under Level 5 of the Resilience and Recovery 2020-2021: Plan for Living with COVID. A list of essential services can be found at https://www.gov.ie/en/publication/c9158-essential-services/ and the list of essential retail outlets at Level 5 can be found at https://www.gov.ie/en/publication/60ecc-essential-retail-outlets-for-level-5/
Level 5 restricts people from physically going into non-essential stores in order to stop people congregating and browsing for non-essential goods, to limit the spread of the virus. All retailers – essential and non-essential – can however continue to trade via ‘remote ordering’ and fulfil orders for all products including non-essential items, by online or by phone, for home delivery and for collection.
Retailers in Ireland are key partners in the effort to suppress the virus and are playing a critical role in the national response during level 5 trading restrictions. Government are fully engaged with the sector and aware of their efforts to serve their customers and adhere to public health guidelines. I and my colleague Minister of State Damien English TD met with the Retail Forum members on 21 October to remind those in the retail sector, of the need for strict adherence to the public health guidelines during Level 5. Minister English has convened regular retail meetings since entering Level 5.
Preparations across Government Departments, local authorities and agencies are firmly focused on ensuring a smooth, safe and enjoyable reopening of retail for all as soon as it is safe to do so. The current restrictions at Level 5 of the Resilience and Recovery 2020-2021: Plan for Living with COVID-19 are in place until midnight 1st December 2020. The Government will make a decision on the current restrictions shortly.
