People need to show "common sense" in adapting to the updated guidelines for food service businesses, the Minister for Further and Higher Education has said.
The rules were issued by Fáilte Ireland yesterday and require pubs and restaurants to keep a record of their customer’s orders.
Businesses must also record the time each booking arrives along with contact details for one member of the party.
Minister Simon Harris agreed there had been "a lack of clarity" in relation to the new guidelines but said people need to take a sensible approach.
Speaking on Newstalk Breakfast he said: "I think the use of loaded language has definitely gone too far.
"It's about a bit of common sense prevailing here.
"The Government doesn't care whether you had dessert or a cup of coffee or whether you went for the banoffee, or as one publican asked me last night, if you changed from the garlic sauce to the pepper sauce.
He said the records of peoples' meals would be kept through receipts, and that it was important that such measures are communicated with stakeholders.
It comes as the Vintners' Federation Chief Executive, Padraig Cribben, said the new rules are a pointless “administrative nightmare.”
Pubs reopening
Minister Harris said: "I want to get to a situation where we can move back to where we need to be, where we try and work out a way to live alongside the virus.
"Where we actually get more businesses back open, where we get our pubs open."
He said the pubs should reopen but in a safe way "with very strict restrictions" and "at a time that it was right".
"I expect we will be in a position to update people on our plans for international travel this month" - @SimonHarrisTD on @BreakfastNT pic.twitter.com/RZQtF6lRIB
— NewstalkFM (@NewstalkFM) September 4, 2020
He added: "When you look across the EU now there are many countries that are seeing a lower prevalence of the virus who are managing to open pubs.
"I'm getting worried about the wellbeing of people.
"We're looking at many months and possibly years of this virus and we have to work out a way of living alongside it in a safe manner.
"We need to get to a point where we trust each other, trust businesses, trust people and individual responsibility along with the state continuing to do its part with testing and tracing as well.'
The Minister said the Government is working on a new national plan to live alongside the virus for the next few months which will be published this month.
The new plan is a chance to "press reset" and to "level with the Irish people" about what the next few months look like and how to live our lives safely.
