The Government and NPHET have been accused of having a "one track mind" as further restrictions, including the closure of pubs and restaurants, look likely before the end of the year.
As the hospitality sector faces its third shutdown in less than a year, and only three weeks after opening back up, health chiefs have been slammed for their "limited" approach to stopping the spread of COVID-19.
The Licensed Vintners Association has slammed health chiefs and the Government as staff in the industry face a difficult beginning to 2021.
According to the latest HPSC data no outbreaks have been associated with pubs since reopening after the second lockdown.
Donall O’Keeffe, Chief Executive of the LVA said: "The suggestion coming from the Taoiseach last night is yet more devastating news for the sector. How can an entire industry be expected to keep going like this? Allowed to open up and then shut down again after only three weeks. The implications this will have on staff, on stock, on bills and on the mental health of those working in hospitality is going to be enormous.
“It is clear that the Government’s yo-yo approach isn’t working. The Government and NPHET seem to have one a one track mind when it comes to dealing with this pandemic - repeated lockdowns which are crushing the hospitality sector. They’ve already kept the traditional pubs in Dublin closed since mid March without evidence to back this approach.
"This is another disproportionate response which shows how limited the Government and NPHET are, how poorly thought out their approach is and narrow scope of their focus. Yet again it is the hospitality sector being picked on for a rise in infections occurring in settings across the economy and across the country."
They said that the continued closures is "madness" as results are always the same, and urged the Government to provide a new strategy for hospitality.
That includes further supports, including doubling the level of CRSS.
He continued: “The definition of madness is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result. The Government needs to provide a new strategy for hospitality and provide some hope for our sector - we provide safe, controlled and policed environments with HPSC data showing there have been no outbreaks associated with pubs since reopening.
“We are again calling on the Government to set out a fully formed roadmap for the hospitality sector and, until we are allowed to reopen on a sustainable footing, to double the level of CRSS support for the pub sector while we are forced to stay shut through no fault of our own."
