Industry bodies claim Living With Covid plan treats Dublin pubs as 'scapegoats'

Dublin pubs will not reopen on September 21. Publican Tom Mulligan of The Cobblestone pub in Smithfield, Dublin. File picture:Gareth Chaney/Collins

"Wet pubs" in Dublin should be treated exactly the same as every other part of the hospitality sector, according to industry bodies.

Pubs who do not serve food in the capital will remain closed after September 21 under the government's new restrictions for the city amid a spike in positive cases.

Drinks Ireland, which represents Ireland’s drinks suppliers, has heavily criticised the news.

They say the continued closure is hugely damaging to the economy and the government is styming the role that these pubs could play in the economic recovery from Covid-19, Patricia Callan, Director of Drinks Ireland said: “This is now the fourth time that pubs in Dublin that do not serve food have been told they could reopen, to then be told, at very short notice, that they no longer can. 

It is completely disproportionate and unfair for these pubs to be treated as political scapegoats, and differently to the rest of the hospitality sector. 

"Dublin pubs that serve food have reopened, safely.

"This is now the fourth time new product has been brewed and delivered in kegs to Dublin pubs, to then not be used. It is also the fourth time drinks suppliers have worked with pubs in Dublin to clean beer lines ahead of a reopening."

Likewise, vintners bodies called the continued closure "arbitrary separation" and "unfair and unjustified".

The Licensed Vintners Association (LVA) has described the Government’s decision to further delay the reopening of pubs in Dublin as being an “empty gesture, backed by hollow words from a Government that broke its commitment to non food pubs again”. 

"The pubs who don’t serve food played no part in the rising level of infection in Dublin, yet pubs were the only businesses singled out in the ‘guidance’ provided by NPHET last week," said Donall O’Keeffe, chief executive of the LVA.

This latest blow to the pub sector in Dublin comes exactly six months since pubs across the country closed their doors by order of the Government on March 15 at the beginning of the crisis, the first sector in the country to close.

This the fourth time the reopening of non food pubs in Dublin has been delayed, following possible reopenings on July 20, August 10 and August 31.

“This ongoing singling out of wet pubs is now being institutionalised in the latest so roadmap and is impossible for our members to understand and accept," Mr O Keefe added.

“One week ago the Government said that non food pubs won’t be singled out if there are any regional restrictions.

"How can anyone put any faith in a Government that just ignores its own commitments?"

Separately, the Irish Hotels Federation (IHF) has also raised concerns about the roadmap, claiming it depicts a grim outlook for the tourism and hospitality sector.

IHF says thousands of jobs are at risk, and the plan "does not take into consideration the controlled environment that hotels offer". 

Elaina Fitzgerald, IHF President, said, "Under the new framework, significant restrictions remain, even at level two, and these measures are negatively impacting some sectors, including tourism, disproportionately."