The Restaurant Association of Ireland claims the Minister for Health acted outside his powers when he allowed indoor dining in hotels but not regular restaurants.
The claim is one of the arguments put forward by the lobby group as part of its attempt to secure a judicial review of the regulations underpinning the distinction.
All going according to plan, restaurants will be allowed to serve customers indoors again this day two weeks.
Hotels have been permitted to do so since the start of this month, albeit just for overnight guests.
The Restaurants Association of Ireland believes that’s unfair and discriminatory. It, along with three restaurants, is seeking to challenge the regulations, which gave that distinction legal effect.
They claim the Minister for Health was acting ultra vires, or beyond his powers, when he made the regulations, which they described as greatly disadvantaging them.
The case won’t be dealt with before the return of indoor dining in restaurants, but they want their case heard anyway to protect them against potential restrictions in the future.
The Minister has been given until July 2nd to outline his arguments and the case will come back before the court the following week.
