The publicans, their families and their customers have been let down. They have actually been misled. When Deputy Varadkar was Taoiseach, he announced that he wanted the pubs to reopen from next Monday. He said it again last week in this House and again this week in his role as Tánaiste. Now we have a new Taoiseach and he has been a failure to the publicans. Why were they not told earlier? Why have they been forced into this situation having bought and paid for their stock and refitted their pubs at enormous expense? They have had mental health issues as well. They were looking forward to seeing their customers and reopening carefully, looking after staff, families and customers alike. This is unbelievable. A three-card trick has been played on them. If the Government is serious about the pandemic, why did the Tánaiste, when he was Taoiseach, personally refuse to close the ports and airports and why does he still do so? It sticks in the craw to see tourists coming in while publicans cannot open their businesses. These are many valuable businesses. They pay tax, rates, VAT and insurance, pay for light, heat and everything else and support all local initiatives. Their mental health is now deteriorating. This is a real hammer blow. It is a real let-down. The publicans have been deceived.

Following up on that, up to ten people can meet in a house. Anyone who had a bull's iota about rural Ireland would know that in most pubs in rural Ireland during the week there might not be four or five people. To stop them from opening is a hammer blow. The Government should look at this again because these pubs need to get up and running not only for the survival of the businesses themselves but also for communities throughout the rural areas.

Yesterday's decision was disastrous for rural pubs. Rural pubs are being thrown into the same phase of reopening as nightclubs. They are totally different types of businesses. The Government has to get a common understanding of a rural pub. It obviously has not had such an understanding up here in recent years. Rural pubs are being thrown in with urban pubs, including Dublin pubs. It is a totally different type of business. In rural pubs four or five customers enjoy a drink in safe proximity. What the Government has led is the opening up of illegal bars all over the place, including in west Cork, in my constituency. There are large house parties. Publicans listened to vibes they got from the Tánaiste and other politicians in government and assumed the Government would allow for the reopening of pubs. They bought their stock. They are down thousands of euro. They are going out of business. Many have pulled the plug as of the Government's decision yesterday evening. It has to rescind that decision.

While we accept the health advice given yesterday, many pubs in my constituency, Tipperary, have been hit hard by the extended closures due to Covid and have lost even more money by preparing for a scheduled reopening which has now been cancelled at very short notice. Will the Government provide support for such pubs in the July stimulus package? Grants must be made available quickly to businesses such as these pubs.

The Tánaiste is the Tánaiste for all the country, not just Dublin. If the public health officials do not understand rural people or rural publicans, the Tánaiste should. Is this another way of routing us out of rural Ireland? It is fairly foolish to think the virus can know whether people are eating their dinner with their pints. Most of the people I represent eat their dinner in the middle of the day. The virus does not know whether they are eating meals with their pints. It is fairly foolish that this is the story preventing us and rural publicans right around the country from reopening. The Government is blackguarding and discriminating against rural publicans and rural people.

I know the difference between a rural pub and a nightclub. I used to have a very good social life and I know about everything in between. Indeed, I have been in the Deputy's family's pub, and a very nice evening we had. However, the assertion that was made is incorrect. We always said from day one that this was a plan that could be accelerated, slowed down or paused, based on public health advice. I understand and feel for people who have painted their pubs in recent days, were gearing up for the reopening, had ordered in stock and now find themselves in a difficult position. Let us try to get them open in three weeks' time. Let us not see their reopening put off again. The best way we can do that is to get the guidelines right. That might be about limiting occupancy to very small numbers-----

Numbers are limited anyway.

-----or, more importantly, about the right behaviours on the part of us as a society in getting the virus back under control.

We need to be frank about closing the ports and airports. This virus will go on for many more months, possibly years. It is not feasible to cut ourselves off from the rest of the world, to stop Irish citizens returning home, to stop people visiting their friends and relatives in other countries, to stop necessary-----