DUP and Sinn Féin appear to have agreed deal which may keep pubs shut, but open cafes, hairdressers, tattooists, body piercing and other services

The plan appears to centre on allowing cafes and restaurants to re-open if they do not serve alcohol, but keeping bars shut – while also re-opening ‘close contact services’ such as hairdressers, barbers, beauticians, tattooists, sports and massage therapists, dress fitters, tailors and fashion designers.

There has been growing criticism of the Executive for not deciding in good time what will happen when the current four-week restrictions expire at the end of this week, something which makes it difficult for businesses - especially those dealing in perishable goods - to plan for possible re-opening.

Last Thursday night SDLP minister Nichola Mallon expressed frustration that at the Executive’s weekly meeting earlier that day a decision had not been made, something which she said she had willing to decide that day.

Health Minister Robin Swann is understood to have submitted a paper to the Executive, conveying the views of the chief medical officer and the chief scientific officer, ahead of last week’s meeting in which he recommended that the current restrictions be extended for a further two weeks.

However, in an interview with BBC NI’s Sunday Politics programme this afternoon deputy First Minister Michelle O’Neill outlined a position which she said was fully supported by First Minister Arlene Foster.

Ms O’Neill said that the Executive will meet tomorrow morning – something which as recently as yesterday some Executive ministers and sources close to the Executive were in the dark about – and will take a decision.

The deputy First Minister said it was clear that the restrictions had worked in suppressing the virus, bringing the R number - the rate at which coronavirus is transmitting within the population - down from 1.6 to 0.7.

However, she said that with schools re-opening last week it will not be known until next week what impact that has had on case numbers.

Setting out the first detail on what is likely to be agreed tomorrow, the Sinn Féin minister said: “We believe there is some flexibility within the current restrictions that we could maybe open up things - so, for example, close-contact services - is there space for us to be able to open those things up again from next Friday, in a very regulated way of course?”

When asked if alcohol could be the determining factor in what is allowed to re-open, Ms O’Neill said: “Yes, it certainly is a factor and I think we have to be very mindful of the fact that perhaps people’s defences come down whenever there is alcohol taken, so what we’re looking at is: Are there ways that we can open things up perhaps without alcohol?”

When asked if cafes and restaurants could re-open without alcohol, but bars and pubs would remain shut, she said: “That’s certainly something that we’re considering.”

Dr Tom Black of the BMA said that if hospitality re-opens this weekend it would be “a deliberate, destructive act” and called for restrictions to be tightened, not loosened.

When it was put to Ms O’Neill that she was going against the views of the medical profession, she said: “Every decision we’ve taken, we’ve taken it on the basis that we’re doing the right thing, based on the information that we have in front of us.

“I concur with what Tom Black has said, I concur with what many health professionals have said - that they’re stretched to the limit and they need breathing space. So any decisions that we take will be in order to give them that breathing space.

“I think it’s so, so important that we listen to health professionals right now. They are on the front line, they are doing the hard job in terms of treating people with covid...”

Presenter Mark Carruthers interjected to say: “You’re not listening to Tom Black - he says you should be introducing more restrictions, not easing restrictions; and you’re easing restrictions”.

Ms O’Neill said: “You see, Mark, we haven’t arrived, and I haven’t communicated yet to the public what our restrictions will look like. There will be a mixed cocktail of restrictions - there’ll be some things that will be extended, there’ll be some things that perhaps we can lift and I think a combination of those things has to be, I suppose, packaged around the evidence.”

Ms O’Neill also said that she wanted to see “mass testing of all people” and further investment in the track and trace system.

When asked if a deal was being done between hospitality lobbyists and the Executive, she said that was “absolutely not” the case and added: “I can give you a crystal clear understanding that there’ll be no trade-offs here.”

She acknowledged “there will be some people who’ll be annoyed by it”.

However - although Arlene Foster pledged that the restrictions would end on Friday and they are now being partially extended - when asked if she was “at one with Arlene Foster...on the plan of attack tomorrow at the Executive meeting; are you speaking with one voice, 100%”, Ms O’Neill replied: “Yes. And we will have a joint Executive agreement tomorrow...I think it’s been one of the successes of the Executive, the fact that we have moved lock stock the whole way through this pandemic...”

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