Tag Archives: hospitality

THE buzz was back on Saturday night with the return to normal pub and restaurant opening hours and the removal of a most pandemic restrictions for the first time in nearly two years.  “We went from a stroll straight into a marathon,” said Clare VFI Chairperson and Ennis publican Charlie O’Meara, “but it was great to be doing it. We found people were in earlier and there was a lull for an hour or two after 8pm. We didn’t expect that. People were in great form and glad to be out. I think the pattern will settle in a while.” Miltown publican David O’Brien, of Michael A’s, described the scenes as reminiscent of a St Stephen’s Night. “Nobody was talking about Covid for the first time in a long time,” he said. “It felt like things were nearly normal again. We know it’s not over, but there was a release for people.” There’s hope too that the staycation boost will …

PUBS and restaurants around the county remain open, but with Covid-19 again rampant, the sector is feeling the pinch. At the same time there is some evidence that general retail has continued to perform well, with its busiest time of the year approaching. Maurice Walsh of Durty Nelly’s in Bunratty says that expectations of a very strong Christmas party season have evaporated. “Our Christmas party set-up would be based around Limerick, Shannon and Ennis, with corporate business. In the last seven or eight days 80% of them have cancelled,” he said on Tuesday. Durty Nelly’s had been set for a very strong Christmas, comparable to 2017 or 2018, prior to this wave of Covid-19. Currently he says turnover is down by about 70%, and he doesn’t know if there will be State support for businesses which are about to lose a lot of seasonal business. The months that followed the summer reopening were quite positive, but he feels the reserves …

A SOCIAL life-line for hundreds of people from Clare, and beyond, may have had its last dance, due to new rules on e-ticketing. Members of the Dancing for Pleasure group have had to sit it out over the long months of lockdown. As restrictions eased for the live events sector, they were keen to dust off their dancing shoes. Organisers were dismayed, however, to find out that the rule on advance ticketing applies, not just to nightclubs, but to their social dancing outings. Regular attendees, who range in age from 60 to 90, are unlikely to take to the e-ticketing system, organisers believe. “We love our dancing,” said Ennis-based committee member Andy Carmody. “Now, we have completely lost our exercise and our social life. A lot of people are not into the internet. I just don’t think that having to buy a ticket by email, at least an hour before the dance, will work for us. It’s not really something …

Ballyvaughan  hotel facing short-term closure due to staff shortages THE Pandemic Unemployment Payment (PUP) should be dramatically scaled back and only paid to employees whose businesses can’t operate, according to a well known hotelier. Woodstock Hotel manager, Sean Lally has called on the government to operate a more targeted PUP support for those who can’t work in view of the chronic staff shortages facing the hospitality and other industries. His appeal coincides with the revelation Gregan’s Castle Hotel, Ballyvaughan, will have to close for ten days in September and five in October, because it hasn’t enough staff to operate its business. Staff shortages in the hospitality sector in the Burren could hamper Autumn bookings, following one of the busiest summers in the region in recent years in terms of Irish visitors. Hotels and self-catering accommodation providers have reported bookings are up on last year, due to a combination of recent fine weather and the desire to holiday at home due …

CLARE’S multi-million euro hospitality sector will be disproportionately hit by the latest “farcical” and “unworkable” restrictions in indoor dining, a local TD has claimed. Deputy Michael McNamara has confirmed he will try to put the latest extension of Covid-19 restrictions for the hospitality sector to a Dáil vote with the help of other Independent deputies. He said it now seems the government is going down the road of a form of “medical apartheid” where non-residents of a bar or restaurant can only enjoy a meal indoors if fully vaccinated. Expressing surprise at the latest move, the Independent Deputy said the government had previously stated it would not adopt this approach and noted the overall uptake of the vaccine against Covid-19 in Ireland is very high by European standards. The Scariff-based deputy pointed out very few bouncers or security personnel have a medical degree to assess whether their customers are fully-vaccinated. “Who is going to be standing outside the doors of …

OLDER workers in Clare are being urged to get in touch with an Ennis-born researcher and his team at University College Dublin (UCD), with a view to sharing their employment experiences. This county has been selected as one of five locations nationwide, where the research team  will explore the opportunities and challenges faced by workers aged 55 and over, who are living or working in the region. The lead researcher is a Clare man, Dr Micheál Collins, who is Assistant Professor of Social Policy at The School of Social Policy, Social Work and Social Justice at UCD. The study is funded by the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment and the Low Pay Commission. The hope is that the study’s results will be used to inform future public policy in the area. “One of the reasons we chose Clare is because of the relatively high numbers of people working in the hospitality and retail sectors,” Dr Collins told The Champion. …

THE return of Level 5 restrictions, which will force gastropubs and restaurants to close from the afternoon of December 24, has been described as “a body blow” to the sector. Fears are growing for the future viability of the hospitality industry in Clare, with a warning that many businesses will face closure in the New Year, unless government supports are stepped up. Reaction in Clare to Tuesday’s announcement that restrictions are to be re-imposed from Christmas Eve, has ranged from resignation in the face of a third wave of Covid-19 to anger at the perceived delay in breaking the news. “This is very disappointing and word got out through a series of Chinese whispers,” said Clare Chair of the Vintners Federation of Ireland (VFI) Darragh McAllister. “The way that the details were leaked [last weekend] is shoddy, amateur and no way to run a country. There are huge problems now for the gastropubs in terms of all of the stock …

THE exclusion of pensioners from a new tourism stimulus scheme for the off-peak season has been described as “a real slap in the face” by the Shannon-based President of Active Retirement Ireland. Kay Murphy told The Champion the terms of the new Stay and Spend scheme, which provides a tax rebate on certain tourism products and services, “victimised” those on State pensions. The initiative, which allows people to claim 20% back on up to €625 spent between October and April of next year, excludes anyone who does not pay tax. “I’m very disappointed about this, so many of our members are dependent solely on the State pension,” Mrs Murphy said. “Because they don’t pay tax any more, they’re not eligible for the scheme.” Mrs Murphy noted that the value of Active Retirement members to the tourism sector had been valued last year at €13.5m and that their exclusion from the scheme made no sense. “At this stage, those of us …