One Size Fits all Pub Closures Unfair and Damaging
Aontú leader Peadar Tóibín TD has said that the government has missed an opportunity to inject some common sense into the Pub Crisis. He stated;
“Some parts of the country are seeing far higher incidence of Covid -19. In other parts there is very little Convid-19 in the community. Many pubs are of a size that the serving of drinks would be possible while observing all social distancing regulations. Many others have Beer Gardens. In city centre locations restaurants and pubs have been allowed to use parts of the street to provide seating for customers. Similar could have been achieved for rural pubs also. A one size fits all rule does not make sense in many cases”.
“During the week the Health Minister was specifically asked by the national broadcaster if publicans should refrain from purchasing alcohol out of fear that pubs would not reopen. The Minister, at that time, did not offer any clear advice to publicans on the topic. Now just two days from the planned reopening of pubs the opening has been called off. This is obviously a decision based on public health advice, but I believe the Minister should have been clearer during the week. The last time the reopening of pubs was postponed publicans were subjected to the added financial burden of having to spill out stocks which had gone out of date”.
Many pubs are nearing 5 months of closure. That’s going to have a massive negative effect on family incomes. Its also going to affect rural towns and villages in a big way. It is imperative now, if there is to be any future for pubs across the country, that the government step up and foot the bill for the stocks which will now have to be poured out by heart-broken, financially strained publicans. If the government do not step up to this challenge then many pubs in rural Ireland will never reopen again. It is not fair that publicans were prepared for the reopening, purchasing stock and them for the decision to be reversed with less than one week's notice”, concluded Deputy Tóibín.
