LVA urges Government to provide hope for pub sector

The Licensed Vintners Association (LVA) has called on the Government to provide hope to hospitality and other sectors deemed "non-essential" by announcing a pathway that will facilitate their eventual reopening. ​The LVA said that after the "longest, most severe hospitality lockdown in Europe", the Government now has a responsibility to provide the thousands of people impacted with a general indication of how much longer they will be left in lockdown. 

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​More than one third of the pubs of Dublin have not been allowed to open their doors since March 15, 2020 - 379 days of closure and counting. 

Food pubs have been closed since Christmas, while non essential retail closed before the turn of the year, it noted.

"We are concerned that the Government announcement will not include any pathway forward for hospitality or other sectors deemed 'non essential' by the Government," said Donall O'Keeffe, chief executive of the LVA. 

"After such an extended closure the Government has a duty of care to provide a pathway forward for the hundreds of thousands of people employed by these sectors. They can't be left in perpetual lockdown", Mr O'Keeffe said. 

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