‘Pubswon’tbefinancially viablewithatwo-metrerule’
WITH ever-increasing concerns among publicans about re-opening of pubs, in Cahersiveen fears are mounting that some of the town’s pubs may never reopen.
PRO of the Cahersiveen Vintners group, Philip O’Sullivan, said COVID-19 has put the future of rural pubs under even more pressure. The main concern is if it is viable to open the doors nor not.
“Before this rural pubs were worried... Numbers were declining, but now this means that a lot of them won’t be viable. Pubs will need a lot of investment,” he said.
Philip runs The Shebeen pub in Cahersiveen, and in his 47 years in the trade he said help from the Government was never more needed.
He said pubs in rural communities operated differently to those in big cities and towns as they serve friends and neighbours, not strangers.
“Social distancing won’t work. It wouldn’t be worthwhile financially to open with two-metre rules,” he said.
“Pubs are the last place we have for a laugh. People come to have the craic, but these rules will ruin that. They are the opposite of why we go to the pub.
“There will be pubs that won’t open in Cahersiveen, it won’t be worth their while.”
He is seeking more clarity from the Government on the rules of operations and says that financial support will also be needed to keep rural open and serving their communities.
Many pubs are a life-line for people living alone in rural communities, he added.
“Some of our customers are living alone and come in during the day or the evening to meet people, and with social distancing they won’t be able to sit together. Maybe people won’t mind and come in anyway. There will be an increase in mental health issues,” he said.
He believes that pubs already have more than enough regulations and that while publicans must play a role, customers must take personal responsibility too.