If pubs remain shut it will create a 'two-tier Chrismas' says the VFI
If pubs are forced to remain closed when Level 5 restrictions are eased next month it will create a “two-tier Christmas”, according to the Vintners Federation of Ireland (VFI).
In a statement issued this afternoon, the VFI says that “pub staff from all across the country are contacting their employers to ask if they can return to work in December, saying they can’t afford Christmas for their families on the Pandemic Unemployment Payment (PUP)”.
The VFI says that if pubs remains closed next month it “ will create deep division in the country”. The representative body also claimed that NPHET has failed to provide any statistical evidence which shows that pubs and the wider hospitality sector have been a high source of infections in Ireland and wants the government to allow indoor service to resume next month.
“If as the Government’s pre lockdown rhetoric put it, Christmas is to be ‘saved’ for the 50,000 people working in the pub sector, then there simply can’t be a two-tier Christmas,” said Padraig Cribben, Chief Executive of the VFI.
“That means allowing indoor trading in pubs and throughout the hospitality sector next month. Limiting hospitality businesses to a 15 person outdoor capacity simply won’t do in December. The Government might as well just take the keys away for most of these businesses. It certainly won’t allow 90% of the sector to go back to work.
“Publicans and their staff have already proved they can successfully and safely open under government guidelines. This was shown when the food pubs reopened in June and when the traditional pubs outside Dublin reopened towards the end of September. There were no increases in the infection rate attributed to pubs.
“For all their focus on the hospitality sector, it is remarkable that NPHET has yet to produce any statistical evidence showing that pubs or other parts of the hospitality sector have been the sources of infection in Ireland. Their unproven approach can’t be allowed to create a Christmas divide across the country. We hope the Government will realise the importance of fostering Christmas goodwill for all sectors, this year of all years,” Mr Cribben concluded.