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UPDATED: 1.25pm
More than 50,000 restaurant employees in Dublin will lose their jobs this weekend after the new Level Three restrictions went into effect last night, according to the Restaurant Association of Ireland (RAI).
He says members are concerned that looming bank payments could force business owners to close for good.
The RAI also believes that the Pandemic Unemployment Pay (PUP) should increase to the level it was at in March.
Chief Executive Officer Adrian Cummins is asking the government to extend the moratorium on bank reimbursements.
“The banks will start looking for their mortgage repayments. The moratorium ends in September, after six months and we are looking for the Government to intervene immediately and extend it for another six months so that these businesses do not have the pressure to pay loans, or owners looking for rent while we’re closed. “
Under the new restrictions in Dublin, all bars and restaurants must close unless they have outdoor seating areas or serve takeout.
The restrictions have been imposed for the next three weeks.
Dónal O’Keeffe, CEO of the Licensed Vintners Association, says the hospitality industry is now facing a lockdown in everything but name.
“More than 52,000 people were laid off overnight, an incredible number of people now face a hugely uncertain future and the hotel industry in general was on its knees anyway.”
“[The sector] it was closed for three and a half months. We were building a very slow recovery in a difficult trading environment and now we are facing another three weeks of closure, “O’Keeffe said.
In the tourism and hospitality industry in general, there are also fears that more jobs will be lost, according to the Irish Hotel Federation.
He says the industry has become “the economic front line” of the Covid-19 crisis, adding that 100,000 jobs have been lost in the sector since March and another 100,000 are now at risk.
Federation President Elaina Fitzgerald Kane says the industry has been disproportionately affected by the restrictions.
“68 percent of the clusters came from private homes, but in the context of restaurants it was 0.0002 percent and that’s why we feel like it’s a really disproportionate impact.
“But at the end of the day, public health is number one. We all want to support the measures.”
Following the announcement of new restrictions on Dublin businesses, Dublin City Council has announced increased support for restaurants, cafes and pubs serving food.
The new measures will allow businesses to use public walkways, designated parking spaces for cars and other public areas controlled by the city council to allow cookouts.
To qualify, companies must have a civil liability insurance worth 6.4 million euros for the use of street furniture, assume full responsibility for health and safety, maintain social distancing guidelines of 2 meters and not be will allow gas heaters.
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