Businesses in tourism and hospitality, including hoteliers, restaurateurs and publicans, have reacted with concern to the news that the country is to move to Level 3 Covid-19 restrictions. Hoteliers have expressed alarm at the additional restrictions being proposed for the country. Elaina Fitzgerald Kane, President of the Irish Hotels Federation states that Level-3 restrictions would make it impossible for many hotels to stay open without a substantial and immediate increase in Government supports. “The communications chaos we witnessed today is doing untold harm to our economy. There are fundamental issues around the Government’s response to Covid-19 and the impact of the crisis on wider society and the economy. Engagement with sectors such as tourism and hospitality has been severely lacking, resulting in an enormous level of unnecessary confusion and uncertainty. This is jeopardising essential parts of the economy and the livelihoods of hundreds of thousands of people throughout the country.”
“It is absolutely essential that the Government change course and collaborate more with business and society groups so that we can get through this crisis while operating within the ‘Living with Covid’ framework. We want to be part of creating a solution for this and we are calling on the Government to immediately put in place structures for engagement with society, business and healthcare. We see a tsunami of job losses in the immediate future if the Government does not change course.” The Restaurants Association of Ireland (RAI) warned the move would mean over 180,000 jobs would go across restaurants, cafés and hospitality businesses this week. It said the announcement would cause an economic meltdown for the sector. "Putting Ireland's entire restaurant/hospitality industry on Level 3 restrictions is utterly disproportionate, devastating for workers and business owners, plus lacking in evidence based rationale," said Adrian Cummins. He said since the end of June the sector has implemented all the guidelines and regulations required to protect staff and customers from the virus. Publicans described the NPHET recommendation as "truly shocking". "Pubs only reopened on 21 September after six months shut, so this news will send shockwaves through our membership," said the Vintners Federation of Ireland. "There was no expectation the country would go to the highest level, certainly not before 'moving though the gears' from Level 2 upwards. What's the point of the Living with Covid plan if we are allowed lurch so violently to the highest level? "We need Government to make an early announcement that Level 5 is not an option. There are many counties where the virus is well under control. They must be allowed remain at Level 2." Comments are closed.
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