A pub owner who has spent up to €40,000 on preparations for returning to business has insisted all bars must be allowed to reopen next Monday.
Deirdre Devitt, a former chairwoman of the Licensed Vintners Association, said establishments have invested tens of thousands of euro in order to keep
their staff and customers safe.
Her business, The Two Sisters in Terenure, South Dublin, has spent between €30,000 and €40,000.
Ms Devitt told RTE Radio 1’s Brendan O’Connor Show: “I think there’s been a lot of stone throwing, but we are all in this together.
“We need the economy to open back up. The pubs that are closed at the moment will have been closed for 40% of their year – that’s their livelihood.
“So it’s very worrying and we’re none the wiser and here we are again, another Bank Holiday weekend waiting until NPHET meets with the Government on Tuesday.
“And when will we hear then? Will it be Friday that we’re told yes or no? I firmly believe we should open all of the pubs, we should all follow guidelines and it should be an equal playing field for everybody.”
Ms Devitt said she doesn’t know of any clusters of Covid-19 attached to bars, adding: “The Two Sisters and all the other pubs that are open have invested significantly in getting our premises back open, getting our staff back to work safely and getting our customers in the door happily.
“There seems to be some sort of a perception that Covid will strike in every pub in the country. I firmly believe that’s not going to happen.”
