Three of Ireland’s major drinks companies, which are members of Drinks Ireland, have joined the calls for Dublin pubs to be treated the same as the rest of the hospitality sector in the country.
In a statement, the Ibec trade group that represents Ireland’s drinks manufacturers and suppliers, said that its is calling the decision to keep them shut 'unfair and disproportionate.'
Heineken Ireland
Maarten Schuurmam, managing director of Heineken Ireland said: “In our view, the decision to keep Dublin’s wet pubs closed is wrong. No other European market has kept its pubs and bars closed this long. Dublin pubs must be given the same opportunity as the rest of the Irish and European hospitality sector to demonstrate that they too can open in a safe and responsible manner."
"As a proud partner of the pub trade, we have played our part in supporting the sector by investing in the collection and sustainable repurposing the beer over the past six months. However, yesterday’s [Tuesday 14 September] decision is hugely damaging for pubs, drinks suppliers and the wider economy of the city and country,” he added.
Diageo Ireland
Oliver Loomes, the managing director of Diageo Ireland and Chair of Drinks Ireland said: “We have been committed to supporting our pub customers in Dublin and around the country and have demonstrated this time and time again over the past few months, from cleaning beer lines and collecting unused kegs, to providing extended credit and creating a €14 million support fund for bars."
"We have now endured four 'false starts' since July and the ongoing approach of discriminating against wet pubs is unfair and inconsistent with the public health approach in the rest of Europe. It is essential Dublin publicans get the same opportunity as bar owners in every other capital in Europe to open in a safe and sustainable way,” he added.
Molson Coors Beverage Company
Ryan McFarland, regional business director for the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland with Molson Coors Beverage Company said: “We welcome the re-opening of wet led pubs from 21 September following the tremendous effort and investment the hospitality sector has made to allow consumers to enjoy these great places safely."
"The news that Dublin wet-led pubs will be unable to re-open will be devastating to many family-run small and medium-sized businesses who are already on the brink of closure. It’s imperative now that the Government supports these hard-hit businesses to avoid many of these treasured pubs disappearing forever,” he added.
Drinks Ireland is currently running an #OpeningTime campaign calling for all pubs to be opened safely and sustainably from 21 September.
© 2020 Checkout – your source for the latest Irish retail news. Click sign-up to subscribe to Checkout.
