High level discussions are underway aimed at allowing ‘wet pubs’ to reopen later this month.
Draft guidelines for the sector have been drawn up by the Department of Health and are in the process of being shared with industry representatives.
The reopening of all pubs is expected to coincide with the release of the government’s new long-term plan for dealing with Covid-19 on September 14th.
CEO of the Licensed Vintners Association, Donal O’Keefe, says it’s important there’s no confusion over the rules when they do reopen:
“All hospitality businesses, whether they are pubs, restaurants or hotels should face the same guidelines, the same restrictions, and have the same opportunities to trade. So a critical issue for us now is that wet pubs don’t face any additional restrictions, they should face the same guidelines as pubs that serve food, hotels and restaurants.”
