4 September 2020
By Tom Collins
tom@TheCork.ie
Fianna Fáil Cork East TD James O’Connor is dismayed at the recent publication of measures stating that restaurants and pubs serving food must record individual food orders and keep those receipts for 28 days.
Deputy O’Connor recognises the hard work and sacrifices that the majority of the public have made in recent months to supress the virus, however these new measures are confusing, non sensical and they are an authoritative and bureaucratic step too far.
These measures put great pressure on our restaurateurs and publicans. It makes little sense to impose further measures when consideration is being given to the re-opening wet pubs who don’t serve food.
Deputy O’Connor says we must have trust in our hoteliers, restaurateurs and publicans, to run their operations safely as many have been doing throughout their lives. Deputy O’Connor said we must trust the Irish people to act responsibility.
The Deputy, having recently attended a meeting of the VFI representatives in East Cork, recognises the increasing frustration and fury felt by publicans whose pubs have been closed since March.
Following this, Deputy O’Connor recently met with the Government Chief of Staff to highlight the concerns of publicans and called for the need to have a clear plan for living with COVID-19 into the foreseeable future. Overall measures need to be clearer and a balance should be struck between maintaining public health and preserving the livelihoods of citizens.
