Pub group JD Wetherspoon says it is 'vital' that indoor reopening is not delayed again

Wetherspoon founder says publicans in Ireland are hanging on by their fingertips "as they are in the UK"

Wetherspoon has seven pubs in the Republic and significant expansion plans. Openings are planned in Limerick, Waterford and Galway. 

British pub group JD Wetherspoon has said it is “vital” that the Government does not further delay the reopening of indoor hospitality.

The current hope is for indoor custom in bars and restaurants to resume by July 19.

“Pubs are a big part of Ireland’s economic and social life and they have been devastated in the last 18 months," Wetherspoon founder and chairman Tim Martin said. 

“Many publicans are hanging on by their fingertips, as they are in the UK, so it is vital that the reopening programme isn’t reversed or even delayed,” he said.

Wetherspoon has seven pubs in the Republic and significant expansion plans. Openings are planned in Limerick, Waterford and Galway. 

It is currently investing more than €50m across three major sites in Dublin city centre. 

Last week, it purchased a site near Temple Bar for €9m, which it plans to redevelop at a further cost of €4m.

In a trading update, Wetherspoon said it still expects to make a loss for its current financial year, which runs to the end of this month and plans to open talks with lenders over debt waivers in the UK.

The company said that its like-for-like sales were down 49% between April 12 and May 16 — when outdoor trading resumed in the UK. 

That shortfall in sales shrank to 14.6% from May 17 to July 4 when indoor hospitality reopened in the UK.

Mr Martin has previously slammed lockdown methods as only causing “economic and social mayhem and colossal debts, with no apparent health benefits”.