Plea for wet pubs to reopen with rest of sector

The Licensed Vintners Association will tell the Tourism Committee that 'all pubs and other hospitality businesses should be able to open at the same time'. Picture: Larry Cummins

So-called "wet" pubs must be opened with the rest of the hospitality sector, an Oireachtas committee will hear.

Representatives of the pub, restaurant and hotel trades will come before the Oireachtas Tourism Committee on Tuesday to outline the effects of the pandemic on their industries. They will plead for additional Government supports, as well as the swift reopening of the sector as Covid-19 cases allow.

Pubs

The Licensed Vintners Association will tell the committee that “all pubs and other hospitality businesses should be able to open at the same time" as pubs will likely have been closed for 15 months when they reopen their doors.

“Given the extended closure our sector has endured, the pub trade could not countenance any further separation between food pubs and wet pubs,” its submission reads.

All hospitality businesses should face the same public health regime, the same Garda enforcement measures, and have the same opportunities to trade."

Hotels

The Irish Hotels Federation will outline a massive drop in business in 2020, with no signs of respite without swift Government supports.

"Due to Covid-19, we estimate that revenue across the hotels sector fell by in excess of €2.5 billion last year (an unprecedented drop of 60%). The immediate outlook remains exceptionally challenging this year.

"The key to restoring employment quickly is the survival of the businesses that can drive recovery, but our businesses require additional financial supports. The cost of these Government financial supports is small relative to the malaise of enduring unemployment and can be offset quickly by a reduction in unemployment supports. 

Speeding up the restoration of the livelihoods of people in our industry will also have an enormous impact on their mental health and wellbeing."

It will ask for a moratorium on bank loans and rates as well as massive State investment in incentives and supports.

Restaurants

The Restaurants Association of Ireland will tell the committee that "little to zero" payments by insurance firms for business interruption is a key challenge for the sector, which had employed 125,000 across 10,000 businesses at the end of 2019.

The RAI will tell the committee that a restart grant, which would help businesses for eight weeks once restrictions end, is needed, as well as the retention of the 9% Vat rate for the sector.

"A restart grant for eight weeks is needed to cover reopening costs. The commercial rates waiver must be extended until the end of 2021 and all local authority license charges/business improvement district levies must be scraped until December 2021. The current Vat rate of 9% must remain in place until 2025."

Hospitality services are not expected to reopen until June or July, sources have indicated.