Crowds allowed return to sporting events but tighter restrictions in Dublin
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The Government will permit limited crowds to attend sporting events from tomorrow as part of the 'Plan for Living with Covid-19', announced today.
The plan is based on five levels of response, up to a maximum of Level 5 where a lockdown would come into effect. Ireland is currently judged to be at Level 2, where sporting events can continue under specific conditions.
100 spectators are permitted to attend outdoor sporting events, with a higher capacity of 200 allowed at stadia which would normally have a capacity of 5,000 or higher. County Dublin is also considered to be at Level 2 but with some extra conditions due to the greater instance of coronavirus cases, with attendances capped at 100 for all sporting events.
The Limerick and Tipperary Senior Hurling finals this weekend will be among the first GAA finals to benefit from the higher 200 attendance, as will the Cork Premier Senior Football Championship quarter-finals, but the Dublin Senior Football final on Sunday will only be allowed 100.
The possibility of greater capacities being allowed at larger stadia is left open, with the Level 2 guidelines stating: "For very large purpose-built event facilities (for example: stadia, auditoriums, conference, or event centres) specific guidance will be developed with the relevant sectors to take account of size and different conditions for larger events."
"There hasn't been any discussion around 5,000, to clarify that," said Taoiseach Micheál Martin when the issue of larger crowds being allowed at Croke Park or the Aviva Stadium was raised.
He added that this would be reviewed alongside NPHET, giving specific mention to "larger sporting events towards the end of the year". The All-Ireland Championships, concluding Six Nations games, Autumn Nations Cup, and the Republic of Ireland's home Nations League games are all scheduled from October onwards.
Training will continue in pods of 15 outdoors and six indoors, with exemptions for professional and elite sportspeople, inter-county squads, and "senior club championship" teams. The latter teams had previously been operating in groups of 15, although lower-level intermediate and junior clubs are not mentioned in the list of exempt teams.
Should the level of response be downgraded to Level 1, attendances of 200 would be allowed at outdoor matches, with a higher number of 500 permitted at larger stadia, with separate "specific guidance" developed for "large national and international sporting events".
100 fans would be allowed to attend indoor events, while there would be no restriction on training numbers indoors or outdoors, once "protective measures" are in place.
Should Ireland increase to Level 3 in response to a wider coronavirus outbreak, no sporting events would be permitted to take place other than behind closed doors events in these categories: professional and elite sports, inter-county and club championship games, and horse racing.
At Level 4, outside of those exempt categories, outdoor training would have to be non-contact only and indoor training on an individual basis only.
Level 5 would mean a return to a full sporting shutdown, with only individual training permitted.