'Tell us the criteria by which pubs will be allowed reopen'

The Chairperson of Offaly branch of Vintners Federation of Ireland has called for clarity on either the R number or the number of COVID-19 cases that will allow pubs to reopen fully.

John Clendennen said having the criteria by which pubs would be allowed to open would provide greater clarity and transparency to publicans up and down the country.

The Kinnitty publican, who is also an Offaly county councillor, said publicans were frustrated at the last-minute decision to delay the reopening of pubs from July 20 until August 10 or possibly longer.

“There's a lot of frustration among our members,” he said, particularly that they weren't given the opportunity to open their businesses and to implement the guidelines.

He said members were asking what the difference was between pubs that served food and those that didn't.

Clendennen said the announcement late in the week before the planned Monday reopening had left many publicans sitting on stock they had bought in anticipation of the reopening.

He was asked if there was a fear in the industry that beverage-only pubs would not be allowed to reopen on August 10.

In reply, he said having a clear answer on the level of cases above which a decision would be made to further delay reopening would at least allow publicans track developments over the days ahead.