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The government has announced another 16 million euro support package for pubs, bars and clubs, in what the two main bodies representing Irish publicans have described as a “petty gesture”.
The package will include a 40% recharge to the restart grant for those venues that remain closed to assist with their reopening.
This means that they can now receive a minimum of € 5,600 and a maximum of € 35,000 under the Restart Grant Plus.
It will also waive court fees and associated stamp and excise taxes related to license renewal for bars and other alcoholic beverages in 2020.
To qualify for the scheme, companies must have 250 or fewer employees; turnover of less than € 100,000 per employee; and reduced billing by 25% as a result of Covid-19.
The Licensed Vintners Association and the Irish Vintners Federation have said the package “shows how little regard this Government has for the problems of the bar industry.”
“This is the third time the reopening of the pubs has been delayed and they have had weeks to put together a package,” said LVA CEO Donal O’Keeffe.
“We had been calling for a plan to support the bar industry since mid-July and this is all the government managed to put together. It is extremely disappointing.”
VFI Chief Executive Padraig Cribben described the package as “woefully inadequate”.
He said the innkeepers “face an autumn of uncertainty with no guidance from the government on how and when they will be allowed to reopen.”
“The government is allowing thousands of bars to dry out on the vine and the damage that is being done to local communities across the country is incalculable,” he said.
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Tanaiste @LeoVaradkar announces that there will be a 40% surcharge on the restart grant for pubs, bars and clubs that remain closed to help them reopen. | https://t.co/sl5fKQvmnp pic.twitter.com/TSuIKLV8GF
– RTÉ News (@rtenews) August 28, 2020
Speaking at a press conference after the cabinet meeting this afternoon, Tánaiste Leo Varadkar said the decision not to reopen the pubs would be a real disappointment for the innkeepers, staff and their customers.
He said the National Public Health Emergency Team was working with the government on protocols that could allow for pubs to reopen in the future “if the virus starts going in the right direction again.”
But he said he couldn’t set a date for that right now.
Speaking at the same briefing, Public Expenditure and Reform Minister Michael McGrath said the government was trying to give bars that remained closed a “fighting chance” to survive.
He described as important the new measures that are announced to support the industry.
McGrath said that as the moratoriums began to expire on loans, he expected banks to show patience in allowing their clients to get through the current period.
The Tánaiste said that Ireland is the only country in Europe where the ‘wet pubs’, those that do not serve food, remain completely closed.
He said there have only been “a significant group” of restaurant cases to date.
Mr Varadkar said he wanted to make sure as many pubs reopen that they can reopen, adding that pubs were important to Irish culture, both in urban and rural areas.
He said he would like bars to be given a chance to show they can reopen safely, but said we had to see cases of the virus drop first.
Mr. Varadkar said that the Government was still asking people to limit their number of social contacts.
He said that more than 90% of the virus clusters had occurred in private homes, “and not just at house parties,” he added.
Mr. Varadkar said that we had seen some scenes that had been quite disturbing in recent weeks, where social distancing had collapsed.
The 40% top-up for the restart grant is too little too late, according to the Labor Party business spokesman.
In a statement, Aodhán Ó Ríordáin said that the government must act to immediately announce support for wet pubs.
“The warm words of the Tánaiste and the Government will not guarantee the survival of our pubs,” he said.
The Irish Beverage Industry Group (DIGI), which is the umbrella organization representing Ireland’s beverage and hospitality industry, including pubs, restaurants, hotels, commercial establishments, brewers and distillers, also criticized the measures.
“Pubs in Ireland have been closed for almost six months, significantly longer than any other EU country. There has yet to be an explanation from the government why Ireland is a special case.
“Furthermore, the government has not provided any certainty or an approximate timetable for the reopening of pubs. This is little consolation for the thousands of entrepreneurs who face the real prospect of a permanent closure, and soon,” DIGI said in a statement.
Additional information: Sharon Gaffney
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