Publicans have called on the Government to set out exactly the situation Ireland needs to get to before bars and restaurants can be reopened.
The hospitality sector is suffering "ferocious stress" amid mixed Government messaging around the lifting of restrictions on dining and drinking out, the chief executive of the Licensed Vintners Association, said this morning.
And Donall O'Keeffe said the Government's Living with Covid document, set to be confirmed by Cabinet tomorrow, must set out exactly the conditions that are necessary if venues can resume trading.
Last week, the Taoiseach said it's likely to be mid-summer – which many have taken to mean June or July – before hospitality will see a return to business.
This morning, Mr O'Keeffe said vintners need "some hope" that they have a future.
"The communications from Government – Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday, all sorts of different of announcements, corrections, clarifications and extensions – is causing ferocious stress to the 7,000 publican families in this country, our staff and our suppliers," he told RTE's Morning Ireland.
He said pubs must be able to open "safely – and, just as importantly, sustainably" when public health concerns allow.
"The Living with Covid document needs to provide some hope for our sector," said Mr O'Keeffe, adding that it's now 343 days since wet pubs in the capital last served up a pint to a paying customer.
"The political signalling around the future of wet pubs has been extremely negative.
"We need some hope that that sector can reopen, will reopen, and reopen on a sustainable footing.
"There's a sense, at this stage in our world, that it's never-ending."
The Living with Covid roadmap – a revised version of last year's plan to manage the worst effects of the pandemic – will be published tomorrow.
On the agenda are schools, hospitality, retail, construction and much more.
And a Government minister confirmed to the Irish Mirror that the plan will be "cautious" and "conservative".
