Ireland’s pub focused tourism calls for relaxation of social distancing norms
Ireland’s world-renowned pub culture has been hit hard by the coronavirus lockdown and pub owners are certain that if the restrictions are not eased, they would be in utter ruins.
The country has imposed probably the strictest lockdown in Europe, under which the pubs can only reopen in August and must keep drinkers two metres apart.
A Reuters report quoting Ronan Lynch, owner of The Swan, a small, Victorian pub said relaxing the guidelines will be the difference between reopening or not.
“We’re at the periphery of Europe with a peripheral view of the two-metre rule. No business can operate at 25% capacity. It just doesn’t stack up,” said Lynch.
Bars and restaurants in Italy, the Netherlands, Portugal and Germany have reopened with 1 to 1.5 metre guidelines. Operators in the Czech Republic, Switzerland and Iceland that have had to stick to 2 metres, have had the benefit of being open since May to try and salvage some of the busy summer season.
Prime Minister Leo Varadkar, a medical doctor, has suggested a possible halving of the social distancing measure and a speeding up of one of Europe’s most conservative reopening plans if coronavirus cases remain under control, but his top health advisers are more cautious.
Lynch, who is the chairman of Dublin’s Licensed Vintners Association (LVA), said permitting one metre between patrons would boost his capacity to 40 to 50%, about 100 drinkers. Research carried out for the LVA found capacity could drop as low as 12.5% for some without any change, the Reuters report said.
Irish pubs have presented the government with a plan to limit drinking to table service, with no live music and staggered access to toilets in a bid to open earlier alongside restaurants on June 29. They haven’t heard back yet.
The guidance will be crucial for pubs, some of whom were criticised for not enforcing social distancing in the early days of the crisis, forcing their closure on the eve of the lucrative St. Patrick’s Day holiday.
One in ten workers in Ireland depend on the country’s pub-focused tourism industry.
