Naas Hotel not opening today due to lockdown outdoor eating guidelines
"Sitting outside in cold weather, in rain and wind, the weather is atrocious.You would have imagined that the Government would have thought of this. They are down on pubs and hotels the whole time.”
Mary Elliffe, owner of The Town House Hotel, in Naas, for the past 25 years, said: “We were supposed to open today, the road is closed, the weather is very bad for outdoor eating. It is impossible to serve food in this weather. We are not allowed to serve food anywhere indoors in Kildare. It is crazy, devastating and soul destroying.”
She says that working for 25 years in Naas, she never experienced anything like this.
She said: “I think that we should have been allowed to open up with Offaly and Laois.”
A total of 20 full and part-time staff are all off, on Covid Pandemic Payments.
She said that it was fine with social distancing indoors, but it is impossible to serve outdoors in the present climate.
She said: “It is very unfair to ask people to eat a hot meal outside. Sitting outside in cold weather, in rain and wind, the weather is atrocious.You would have imagined that the Government would have thought of this. They are down on pubs and hotels the whole time.”
Mary said: “We had loads of rooms for keeping tables apart, the function room and restaurant, we could safeguard everyone.”
She said that the whole road being dug up in front of them means that people can't get down to them, and they are being 'shut down' by this.
Mary says that the family business has staff that are there 30 years.
She said: “I don't think that this Government knows what they are doing at all, it is devastating, we are being penalised.”
Mary says that she has not got a payment from anyone, but that staff got the Covid Payments.
She said: “Noone is allowed into bar, function room, this is the new lockdown guidelines. This is the latest, and it is silly. Bringing in staff to serve 15 people and then they can only stay one hour 45 minutes. The pubs are being penalised, people are very happy to go out for a meal and stay at their table. People go, sit down, have their meal, and few drinks, and leave, I don't see why they can't be allowed to do that. It will be very difficult to get our customers back, we are worried about our staff going to other counties, leaving the hotel business.”
Mary says that the Government and NPHET needs to allow them to continue their business.
She said: “It is crazy, to open your pub, and serve 15 people, it is not viable. A lot of publicans will be rethinking their business after this, half of them will not open again. The Government rules seem to be changing all the time, there is no evidence that people are getting Covid in the pubs.”
She is imploring for the Government and NPHET to allow people to eat indoors at restaurants.
She said: “We are not in Spain, and especially 15 people.”
Mary is concerned that traffic is not being allowed near her business.
She said: “The road was supposed to be closed for two weeks. If there is anything they can do, to reopen the road, we are waiting on the road to open, or the lockdown to stop, or to change so that we can serve indoors, that is the only way to do it.”