97 Westmeath pubs yet to reopen says VFI

The Vintners Federation of Ireland has called on the government to publish the public health guidelines for the thousands of the pubs scheduled to reopen on July 20.

There are 97 pubs in Westmeath and 3,438 nationwide scheduled to reopen in 11 days, but their owners still don’t know how they will need to adapt their businesses to ensure they comply with the public health requirements.

The VFI says that this is causing anxiety in some rural communities, with many of these unopened pubs serving as the only gathering locations or hospitality venues in their area.

According to Mayo publican Marie Mellett, owner of Mellett’s Bar in Swinford, the lack of guidelines is hampering preparations for reopening. #“After placing public health first by agreeing to close our business over 120 days ago, we’re now crying out for the guidelines that will allow us reopen,” says Marie. “It’s a simple question: ‘where are the guidelines?’ We are literally just days away from July 20th but there is nothing from government.

“For most rural pubs the bar counter is where all the action is, but we don’t even know if bar stools will be allowed. If they’re not, the impact on small pubs will be massive as many of our customers will only sit at the bar,” adds Marie.