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Restaurant bosses had hoped to extend opening hours on New Year’s Eve to allow customers to call in 2021, but are now reeling from the news that they will be closing again on Dec. 28.
There is new consternation within the hotel industry after Taoiseach Micheal Martin and medical director Dr. Tony Holohan confirmed that Nphet is recommending more restrictions.
There are claims that an early closing date for pubs and restaurants during the busy Christmas period will be the final nail in the coffin for many.
The news came as a surprise to representatives of the Restaurant Association of Ireland (RAI) as it emerged that the RAI met with Tánaiste Leo Varadkar and the Department of Tourism on Wednesday. That was with a view to extending opening hours on New Year’s Eve, before the announcement just 24 hours later.
In the week that Fáilte Ireland launched its ‘Eat Out Safe’ campaign, extended opening hours on December 31st were discussed in an attempt to reduce house parties or gatherings in uncontrolled settings.
The talks had been positive, according to RAI CEO Adrian Cummins.
“We are absolutely deflated,” Cummins told the Irish independent.
“We met with the Tánaiste and the Tourism Department on Wednesday and we left that meeting with the impression that it would be January before there was some kind of closure.
“We would spend Christmas and New Years and it would only be then for more restrictions.
“In fact, we had very positive conversations about extending the opening hours until 12.30 on New Years Eve.
“By opening later, we would reduce house parties that take place in completely uncontrolled environments and keep people safe, inside restaurants and pubs, where everything is guarded and controlled.”
Cummins insists the data reaffirms RAI’s position on diner safety in pubs and restaurants, with Fáilte Ireland’s guidelines and measures equipping businesses to trade safely while protecting jobs. and livelihoods.
“Destroy the soul,” Cummins added. “There have been no outbreaks in restaurants, cafes and gastronomic bars in the last 14 days: zero. Those are the HPSC numbers we’re talking about and meanwhile house parties are rampant with no surveillance or control. I can see and hear them myself in my own area.
“Dr. Tony Holohan was on the radio saying that no one is being targeted by these restrictions, well the overwhelming sentiment within our industry is that not only are pubs and restaurants being targeted, but that we are being scapegoats.
“210,000 workers, 30,000 business owners, this is paralyzing them and many will simply not come back from this, they have been reeling.
“It’s amazing how there are no drastic measures against street drinking and house parties, but we cannot have reservations, providing contact tracing details, with a maximum of six people sitting in a controlled environment.
“There was a Covid Safety Charter written by the Department of Health and it has been brilliantly implemented by Fáilte Ireland. Fáilte Ireland has invested € 1 million in the Dine Out Safely campaign to raise awareness at home and reassure customers about the safety of dining out.
“This now just added to the stress and strain on restaurant owners and staff who were already suffering but were starting to see some light at the end of the tunnel.”
In line with Fáilte Ireland’s launch of the Dine Out Safely campaign, the Irish independent Yesterday I visited FX Buckley on Dublin’s Pembroke Street for a busy pre-Christmas lunch.
The staff, and customers, strictly practiced clear guidelines and our table for three was set safe and away from other diners, but not far enough away to lose the atmosphere.
Cummins’ concerns are now firmly with restaurant owners and staff.
He is urging the government to halt the incoming restrictions until at least December 30, to give companies some chance of survival.
“A busy restaurant could charge € 10,000 a day. Those few additional days will mean an additional € 30,000 for the owners, which will cover the cost of the bills, the rents, the shares already bought and will last the month of January. That would be crucial to prevent these companies from going under. “
Irish independent
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