Irish pub owners said they believe they have no option but to go along with the Government proposals for permitting indoor hospitality.
The dispirited statement came after yesterday’s discussions between Government and the hospitality sector.
The Licensed Vintners Association (LVA) said the choices came down to keeping hospitality closed for several more months or proceeding with a hugely challenging system.
As the government looks to create a plan for reopening indoor hospitality by 19 July, recent discussions are reported to focus on the EU Digital Covid Certificate for admission to premises for those vaccinated or recovered from Covid-19.
“We don’t like this approach and we don’t want it,” said LVA Chief Executive Donall O’Keeffe. “We feel it is deeply problematic on a practical level. But when the choice comes down to this proposal or staying closed for several more months, we feel we have no option but to go along with it. With some pubs having now been shut for almost 16 consecutive months we’re being put over a barrel because we have to get the sector open or more businesses will go bust and thousands more will lose their livelihoods.
“We are expecting major problems on the ground such as individuals seeking to gain access under false pretences. Tourists that arrive here on a negative PCR test won’t be permitted indoors. We have received many reports of members of the public taking serious objections to providing a single contact number for a group and that creating aggravation for the staff involved, so we do anticipate there will be even more difficulties once this approach is implemented.
“Accordingly, we urgently need to see the legislative proposal underpinning this approach.
“The key question now is whether the Government moving quickly enough to have this system in place by 19 July to allow indoor hospitality to proceed on that date. There can be no further delays in clarifying those questions so that everyone in our industry can start working towards a definitive date once and for all. After the catastrophic delay experienced to date, we need the Government to be crystal clear with removing the operational challenges to their approach and achieving a 19 July reopening date,” Mr. O’Keeffe concluded.
