Employers group Ibec has warned the Government against a “knee jerk escalation of business closures in Dublin”.

Employers group Ibec has warned the Government against a “knee jerk escalation of business closures in Dublin”.
In a statement ahead of a cabinet meeting that will consider advice from NPHET that includes additional restrictions for Dublin, the organisation said such a move would undermine the credibility of the Government’s new Covid framework.
It also cautioned that it would be a severe blow to economic and business certainty for the wider business community.  
“Moving beyond Level 3 to a ‘3.5’ would undermine the credibility of the codified system, and framework process introduced this week, for the entire business community,” said Ibec CEO, Danny McCoy.
“It would damage the certainty which the framework was supposed to deliver and is worrying for businesses in all sectors of the economy across the entire country,” Mr McCoy stated.
In a reference to potential restrictions on restaurants and pubs serving food in the capital, Mr McCoy said that based on the transmission data it is hard to see the logic for a recommendation which would disproportionately target one sector of the economy at such short notice.
He said such a move would have “costly implications for managing perishable stock and workforce planning”.
This will cause hardship for many employees, he said, particularly given recent changes to the wage subsidy scheme and the Pandemic Unemployment Payment.
Adrian Cummins, the chief executive of the Restaurants Association of Ireland, has said the possibility of shutting down indoor dining in Dublin has “come out of the blue” and with no consultation with the sector. 
Speaking on RTÉ’s Morning Ireland, Mr Cummins said it appears the restaurant industry is being “singled out” and they had no indication this was coming down the tracks for the restaurant sector. 
He said there was no consultation or advice given to them that effectively a “hospitality lockdown” was being proposed to Cabinet. 
“We are in shock. We are not the problem. The problem is in households,” Mr Cummins said. 
He said is seems that the Government is going after the hospitality industry and targeting a sector with the least amount of cases. 
“Effectively you are telling our industry to close down as of midnight tonight if cabinet sign off on this,” he stated. 
He said up to 50,000 jobs in Dublin could be affected if the restriction is introduced. 
Mr Cummins said it is about livelihoods of workers, business owners and that the Government “cannot keep switching on and off” their industry without prior consultation. 
“If it does go ahead, then an emergency aid package must be in place for our industry as these businesses have banks looking for loan repayments and suppliers looking for money,” he said.
He said the industry is already in crisis and the Government needs to step up to the plate. 
He said allowing restaurants to continue with takeaway is not enough as “it is not profitable or viable for business”. 
He said he hopes there are modifications to the proposal today.