CEO Update: Ibec engagement with Government on Covid developments

Monday, 5 July 2021

The latest CEO Update to Ibec membership from Danny McCoy

Dear member,

The spotlight this week in relation to Covid will be rightly on finding a pathway for the reopening of indoor hospitality. You will have observed Ibec’s voice on this issue in the media in recent days.  

This week, I will have a series of high-level political engagements on this and other areas of immediate and significant concern for the business community, including international travel and return to office protocols.  The opening up of international travel from July 19th is of critical importance for business. Ireland cannot continue to be an outlier in this regard given the nature of our globalised business model. 

Today I met with the Taoiseach, Tánaiste, Ministers for Transport and Public Expenditure through the Labour Employer Economic Forum (LEEF). The sense of the cabinet is that the priority is that which is already open shall remain open and the timelines on further reopening for hospitality and international travel remains geared towards July 19th. Similarly, the ambition remains of 100% capacity on public transport in early August and a phased, gradual return to office from September. We raised the critical need to provide clarity on the role of antigen testing and employer issues around GDPR in the disclosure of an employee's vaccine status. We will meet Government again over the course of the week to address a range of issues in relation to the Return to Work Safely Protocol. 

The last week has been frustrating on many fronts, particularly for those in the Experience Economy, but the communication and decision-making process is a significant source of concern and uncertainty for the entire business community.  This issue can be improved, and so too can the Government’s roll-out of the full artillery available to our society to live with Covid.  We will continue to represent the interests of business during what I believe to be a significant week in terms of getting the reopening roadmap back on track and will keep you updated on developments as the week progresses.

Best wishes,

Danny McCoy
CEO
Ibec