Taoiseach Leo Varadkar made the announcement today on what changes will come into effect from next Monday June 8th as Phase 2 of the re-opening process begins. Before we can resume our GAA activities in Spa we will wait for an announcement from GAA headquarters on how clubs can safely and responsibly re-open.

The spread of the virus has been suppressed for now, and the good news starts with the Taoiseach announcing an acceleration of the road map for re-opening the country. There will now be 4 phases instead of 5 - Phase 2 to start next Monday June 8th, Phase 3 to start Monday June 29th and Phase 4 to start on Monday July 20th. All phases will be monitored over the coming weeks and people are reminded that, if needed, the re-opening process can be amended if the spread of the virus increases again. The main points of today’s announcement are:

• The ban on mass gatherings is expected to remain in place until the autumn

• Advice is still to practice good hygiene, stay 2m apart, keep washing hands and the advice remains the same on face coverings (while advised to do so, it will not be legally enforced to wear face coverings)

• Those in the ‘at risk’ categories that have been cocooning can welcome a small number of visitors to their homes from Monday June 8th for a short visit. Shops are asked to establish dedicated shopping hours specifically for those in the at-risk groups

• Recommendation is to continue to avoid unnecessary travel and stay local where possible. However, people can travel anywhere within their own county or up to 20km from home if they will be crossing into another county. Travel limits will be removed completely from June 29th

• Up to 6 people can meet either indoors or outdoors but are asked to keep 2m apart

• Up to 15 people can meet for outdoor activities

• Working from home will still be the norm for those that can continue to do so

• Up to 25 people can attend funerals from Monday June 8th

• Public libraries can re-open on Monday June 8th

• A new education programme to run over the summer for children needing extra support will be announced shortly

• Outdoor amenities for children can open, such as supervised visits to playgrounds, outdoor camps etc with max 15 people

• Elite athletes can return to training facilities

• Marts can open

• ALL shops can re-open from Monday but they are asked to have staggered hours to help with social distancing. Shops asked to open no earlier than 10am

• Stores in shopping malls can open from Monday June 15th (but no seating areas in shopping malls or food courts etc where people might gather)

• The Tourism & Hospitality sectors can return from Monday June 29th in an effort to re-start the local Irish tourism industry. Hotels, B&B’s, caravan parks, visitor attractions, museums etc can re-open. Bars that serve food can re-open with table service only, and restaurants can also re-open on June 29th.

• Places of worship can resume services from June 29th

• Hairdressers, nail technicians etc cannot re-open until Phase 4 on July 20th

The position remains however that the progression of the virus is constantly being reviewed and, if required, changes will be made to the road map.