A ban on the sale of takeaway alcohol from pubs “would be one more tightening of the screw” for the industry, the Vintners’ Federation of Ireland has said.
Brian Foley, communications and public affairs manager spokesman for the group which represents publicans outside the capital, said any such move would be a “big issue” for publicans.
“The right of pubs to sell off-licence products is part of primary legislation,” he said.
“It would be a big move to try and ban pubs from selling off-licence products. Will they ban all off-licence sales? What is the difference between a pub selling off-licence products and an actual off-licence selling it? How do they differentiate between the two?”
Mr Foley said although only a minority of pubs were serving takeaway drinks – which is currently permitted under Level-5 restrictions – it was allowing the businesses to keep “ticking over”.
“But we are waiting to see what the Government will say. They need to come out quickly and clarify what they are planning.”
He was speaking after the Government signalled that proposals would be brought to Cabinet on Tuesday to restrict takeaway sales from pubs for the remainder of the Level-5 lockdown.
Street drinking
Some pubs have been selling takeaway pints and cocktails, which has given rise to on-street drinking by groups of people. Under licensing regulations, these drinks cannot be consumed within 100m of the premises that sold them.
Footage of groups gathering with drinks in Dublin city centre at the weekend was circulated widely, raising public concern.
The Garda said it attended Dublin’s South William Street and surrounding area on Saturday evening – where the video was shot – and “requested all persons to disperse”.
“No breaches of regulations are being investigated at this time as all persons present at the scene came into compliance with the regulations,” a Garda spokesman said.
Earlier this year, the Licensed Vintners’ Association (LVA), representing the Dublin pub industry, wrote to the Government saying on-street drinking should be banned and that it would not oppose any move to end takeaway sales.
Meanwhile a member of the Government’s public health advisory body has said the group would have “problems” with any proposal to open pubs at Christmas and that travel advice should not change in December.
Travel restrictions
As the Government prepares to review the current restrictions four weeks into the six-week lockdown, Dr Mary Favier, a member of the National Public Health Emergency Team (Nphet), warned against reopening pubs and suggested that the current travel restrictions should not change.
Dr Favier told RTÉ on Monday that the pandemic had “unmasked some difficulties we have . . . and one of those is our relationship with alcohol as was evidenced by the drinking scenes on the streets”.
Asked about reports that some members of Government favour a two-week window for opening pubs over Christmas, Dr Favier said: “I think we’ve got problems with that if we’re going by the current circumstances.”
Asked about travel restrictions, Dr Favier suggested that Nphet would seek to have the existing guidelines on travel maintained in December.
“I think the restrictions on travel are appropriate now and unfortunately they’re going to be appropriate in five/six weeks’ time over the Christmas period. The virus doesn’t know the boundaries of a festive season,” she said.
Drinks Ireland, which represents drinks suppliers and manufacturers across the country, said on Monday pubs should be given the opportunity to reopen safely at the start of December.
Chief executive Patricia Callan urged the Government to base decisions on reopening the sector “fairly and based on evidence, research and data”.