Publicans want beer gardens to open across Ireland from 24 May

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Publicans in Dublin have called for beer gardens to open in Ireland on 24 May, in line with those in Northern Ireland. The Licensed Vintners Association (LVA), which represents pubs in Dublin, has launched the call to action on the 400th consecutive day of closure for wet pubs. It's encouraging Dublin publicans to contact their local politicians to ask that all pubs be allowed to reopen for outdoor service next month. Pubs across Ireland shut their doors on 15 March last year and so-called 'wet pubs' in Dublin have not reopened their doors since. This represents approximately one third of all pubs in Dublin. Pubs in the UK were given the green light to resume outdoor service on 12 April and Northern Ireland has given venues permission to resume indoor and outdoor dining from 24 May. The LVA said outdoor activity is widely acknowledged as being relatively safe and believes the end of May represents a reasonable timeframe for this activity to recommence. It said any long delays between the reopening in north and south will lead to thousands of people crossing the border every week to make use of pubs and restaurants. "Traditional pubs across the country have had it harder than other forms of hospitality and the traditional pubs in Dublin were even more marginalised as they haven’t opened their doors for the last 400 days and counting," Donall O’Keeffe, Chief Executive of the LVA, said. “We believe this unjust segmentation has to stop. As we reach this unfortunate milestone we are launching a call to action and urging all our members to contact their political representatives. "They should press for the reopening of the hospitality sector to begin with outdoor service for traditional pubs, gastropubs, restaurants and hotels from late May. This matches up with the timeframe outlined by NPHET for social contact to remain unchanged and also for the further rollout of vaccines." He added: “Our members should also highlight that the risk profile is the same for indoor hospitality service in all venues – traditional pubs, gastropubs, restaurants and hotels. "With hotels expected to reopen in June, all forms of hospitality should be allowed to resume indoor service from that point especially with the rollout of the vaccine due to have reached 80% of the adult population that month." “We see no justifiable reason for any section of hospitality to be favoured over others. On the day Dublin’s traditional pubs reach 400 consecutive days of closure the tiered treatment needs to end.”