Galway Bay fm newsroom - Pubs and restaurants may be forced to close from 5pm in the run up to Christmas.
NPHET has made a series of recommendations to Government in a bid to slow the spread of the Omicron variant.
Cinema, theaters and sporting events will also have to close at 5pm and will be capped at 50 per cent capacity.
The Cabinet sub-committee on Covid will meet around lunchtime to consider the recommendations, and will be followed by a full Cabinet meeting later.
HSE CEO Paul Reid says difficult decisions have to be made.
Padraig Cribben, from the Vintners' Federation of Ireland, says a 5pm closing time would be a massive blow to publicans.
Owner of the Two Sisters Pub in Terenure, Deirdre Devitt says the Government can't keep closing and reopening businesses.
