Government’s decision to keep so-called ‘wet pubs’ closed for Christmas has been slammed as “an assault on rural communities.”
A band of wet pub owners called Traditional Pubs Ireland have marched on the Dáil in protest calling on the Taoiseach to do a U-turn and allow all pubs open for the festive period.
Specifically, they would like outside serving allowed for up to 25 people.
The country has moved to a new Level 3 on the Living with Covid roadmap and this means that pubs that don’t have a kitchen are not allowed reopen this Friday.
The publicans who came to Dublin to vent their fury were mainly from rural areas and they claim the decision is ruining communities, not just businesses.
TJ McInerney, who runs TJ Macs in Mullinahone, Slievardagh, Co Tipperary, told the Irish Mirror about the devastating impact the ongoing closure is having.
He said: “As regards rural communities, nothing has changed, we just traded for two weeks, and I feel like it is an assault on rural communities at this stage.
“The urban-rural divide, it’s just not acceptable.
“This is a specific attack on rural Ireland and it’s an ongoing attack by Government.
“We’re here today to get traditional pubs reinstated.
“The least they could offer would be to allow 25 people outside.”
Marti Devaney of the Blue Devon in Dromahair, Co Leitrim, told the Mirror that businesses that had been passed down through the generations face being lost forever.
She said: “We want to be the older generation that passes the businesses onto our next generation, but this is giving them no hope.
“There’s no confidence that, oh God, at least my kids will be looked after.
“We’re losing hand over foot and on top of that had we realised this was going to happen we would be in a financial position to invest as much as we had in the months we were off.
“I spent everything I had, and more.”
