Beef farmers are welcoming the decision by the Supermac's fast food chain to begin reopening some of their restaurants from today.
The company will begin offering 'Drive Thru, Delivery and Drive & Collect' services at three Galway outlets from today, with seating areas remaining closed.
They're then due to reopen a dozen other restaurants across the country 'on a phased basis' from Friday, with the same limited service being offered.
Staff will be provided with gloves and masks, while staff temperature monitoring is also being put in place.
Contactless and card only payment procedures will also be in place.
It comes nearly a month since the fast food chain initially closed all outlets as a result of the restrictions put in place due to the coronavirus crisis.
The company said they've now developed processes to ensure "safety, wellbeing and standards are not compromised".
Supermac's decision has been welcomed by beef farmers, who've previously expressed concern about the drop in demand for beef and other products during the coronavirus crisis.
Dermot O'Brien from the Beef Plan Movement said today's announcement is a big boost to Irish farming.
He said: "We have to start getting back to normality at some point... and if we have a measured approach, I think we can achieve this.
"Supermac's, being a home-grown Irish industry, are now leading the way."
