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Nationwide restrictions that limit all pubs and restaurants to outdoor seating and a maximum of 15 patrons will be an effective shutdown order for many struggling businesses, industry groups have said.
Under Tier 3 measures, food-serving pubs, restaurants, cafes and bars can remain open for take-out, home delivery, and outdoor meals / services for up to 15 people. Eating inside is not allowed.
Pádraig Cribben, executive director of the Vintners Federation of Ireland (VFI), which represents pubs outside Dublin, said the restrictions were “the equivalent of closing for the great, great majority” of pubs.
The reality was that companies “could not survive” with public health limits of 15 clients abroad, he said.
Similarly, the Restaurant Association of Ireland (RAI) said Level 3 restrictions on alfresco dining would only mean that staying open is not feasible for many restaurants.
Adrian Cummins, CEO of RAI, said that “dining al fresco with a maximum of 15 people is not feasible for restaurants in Ireland, our climate is not conducive to providing this service to customers.
“Ireland is now the only country within the European Union that has an indoor eating ban and the RAI is asking the government to release the evidence supporting the ban,” he said.
The country will move to Level 3 of the Government’s long-term Covid-19 plan, which is already in place in Dublin and Donegal, for three weeks starting at midnight on Tuesday.
Under the restrictions, pubs, cafes and restaurants are limited to alfresco dining only with a maximum of 15 patrons, and takeout and home delivery services.
In Dublin, “booze pubs” will be closed, and pubs serving food may offer cookouts only.
The National Public Health Emergency Team (NPHET) recommended that the government place the country at Level 5, an effective national shutdown that would restrict pubs, cafes, and restaurants to takeout service only.
The recommendation was met with strong opposition from industry groups in the corporate and hotel sectors. On Monday, the Government chose not to accept NPHET’s advice and decided instead to move to Level 3, for a period of three weeks.
In a statement in response to the decision, the VFI stated that the Level 3 restrictions would result in 50,000 bar employees losing their jobs.
Pubs that don’t serve food were allowed to reopen outside the capital just over two weeks ago, for the first time since March.
“There was some hope when the pubs reopened two weeks ago that they could change their path to a successful Christmas season, but that seems impossible now. We are faced with the prospect of being closed for at least nine months of 2020, a fact that the government must address, ”Cribben said.
“While the government says these restrictions will remain in place for three weeks, we have learned from bitter experience that reopening dates can move at the last minute,” he said.
“Our members face another prolonged period of uncertainty at the worst possible time. Next week’s budget is a crucial opportunity for the government to demonstrate its commitment to the tavern sector by announcing a series of measures that will restore confidence to a battered business, “he said.
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