Continued Covid curbs ‘could wipe out nightclubs’
BUSINESS owners have called for clarity around whether or not next week’s reopening will be delayed , criticising the Government for throwing their plans into potential turmoil so close to the scheduled reopening.
Nightclub owners – who have remained closed since the first lockdown in March 2020 – warned that the industry will be ‘wiped out’ if progress is delayed.
Meanwhile, pub and restaurant owners are also in limbo as to whether they will remain operating for longer periods and without the use of vaccine certificates from October 22.
Nightclub promoter Buzz O’Neill Maxwell fears confidence in the industry will be ‘shattered’ if the reopening is stalled.
‘It’s hard to fathom at this late stage. We warned about this, that we wanted proper confirmation well in advance, we want no lastminute hiccups, and yet here we are again with the same things they did to the hotel, bar and restaurant industry just before they opened,’ he told the Irish Daily Mail.
‘We’re absolutely ready to go, ready to push the button. I don’t see the figures changing in any way, or the situation changing in any way… we can’t face another winter of this. It will wipe out our industry.
‘If this 19 months turns into 24 months, I think people will just give up, people who do this for a living will just go elsewhere, we’ll have to do something else.’
Ian Redmond, owner of Dublin nightclub Tramline, said he would be happy with vaccine certs remaining in place if it meant they could reopen, saying he is ‘devastated’ at the speculation.
‘We’ve 1,000 tickets sold for next Friday, we’ve 1,000 tickets sold for next Saturday, we’ve another 1,000 tickets sold for the following Saturday… It’s so disheartening at this late stage to hear this rumour. We’re calling on the Government to make a decisive decision and tell us what their plan is,’ he told the Mail.
Meanwhile, vintners say entire sectors should not be penalised because some people are opting to remain unvaccinated.
Chief of the Licensed Vintners Association Donall O’Keeffe said the speculation around the reopening is having an ‘appalling impact’ on businesses, staff and
‘No last-minute hiccups’
suppliers who were focused on October 22.
‘If the reopening is delayed, what indications are there that people who are unvaccinated will change their minds?’ he asked.
‘Yet, we could face further delays because of a factor – the number of people unvaccinated – that is unlikely to change. That doesn’t seem in any way proportionate.’