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Representatives from the hotel industry are heading to the Dáil on Tuesday to advocate for their livelihoods.
The country’s bartenders are on their knees, they’ve had enough, and they want to know when they can serve their thirsty punters again.
Our local bar owners, restaurant operators and hotel workers have been decimated by Covid, and their representatives will be at Leinster House tomorrow to ask the government for help.
The so-called ‘wet pubs’ will have been closed 372 days today since Covid took over the country last March, and many have gone to the wall since then.
The tavern keepers’ support group, the LVA (Licensed Wine Growers Association), is demanding a real plan from the government at Tuesday’s Oireachtas tourism committee meeting, and adequate financial support for an industry that remains alive.
They are looking for definitive criteria for the reopening of pubs, linked to the vaccination rates of the adult population.
They say the reboot grants should be double what they were when the pubs got the little window reopened last summer.
The industry is near bankruptcy and wants the government’s wage support plans guaranteed until next March in a bid to help keep businesses afloat through the winter.
And they also want an end to the “ridiculous discrimination” of so-called ‘wet pubs’ and preferential treatment for gastropubs and other food pubs.
In a statement to the committee Tuesday morning, LVA President Noel Andersen of the famous Bridge Bar in Ballsbridge and LVA CEO Donall O’Keeffe will say: “The LVA understands that specific reopening dates they cannot be provided at this time.
“However, we ask the Government to publicly communicate the circumstances that must be applied to allow the total reopening of the hospitality sector and the reopening of the commercial environment position.”
He continues: “Given the prolonged closure our industry has suffered, the pub trade could not tolerate any additional separation between food pubs and wet pubs.
“There must be a vaccination dividend in terms of unrestricted reopening.”
The Restaurant Association of Ireland (RAI) is also asking for some “hope” from the Government of the compromise at Leinster House.
RAI CEO Adrian Cummins told the Mirror that half of the nation’s restaurants face annihilation if they cannot reopen meaningfully soon.
There are 270,000 people employed in the sector, who face financial ruin unless the government comes up with a proper plan.
Cummins said: “Hotel businesses are on the brink of collapse, 50% of restaurants are facing permanent closure. We need a plan for reopening.
“We need a plan to re-employ people, and most of all, our industry needs hope. Current commercial supports don’t go far enough. “
The LVA adds in conclusion: “Covid-19 has had a huge impact on licensed commerce. “We would appreciate the support of this Committee to our sector recommending the following to the Government:
“1. Extension of government financial support to facilitate our long-term recovery.
“two. Clarification on the reopening scenarios for our members and what (if any) public health restrictions may apply after vaccination.
“3. Confirming that there can be no justification for keeping wet bars closed while allowing other parts of the hospitality sector to operate in the summer of 2021.
“As a result of vaccination, this artificial distinction between food businesses and bars must end.”
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