Coronavirus: Concerns over tightening of Covid pub restrictions

Representatives from across the hospitality industry have raised concerns as Covid-19 restrictions are expected to be tightened this week.

Pubs that do not serve food are due to reopen in NI on Wednesday. It is the last part of the sector to re-open.

Now the government has announced pubs in England and Scotland must close at 22:00.

The NI Executive is due to meet this week to decide what restrictions to put in place.

Some bars have raised concerns about a possible ban on live music.

Ciaran Smyth, owner of Belfast city centre pub Voodoo, said the prospect "horrifies me as a music venue owner".

"I do not see that the executive can put a condition on wet bars opening that devastates another sector and that's the live music industry."

He said there should be a risk-assessed approach.

"We have a squad of good security men who can quietly deal with any issue - it's a thing we should be allowed to manage," he added.

Hospitality Ulster said changes would be a major blow to the sector.

Colin Neill, its chief executive, said: "I don't know who will open, whether it will be viable, indeed I expect premises that are all ready now to say this isn't viable.

"This comes in the midst of furlough ending and all the other schemes disappearing.

"If we close at 10pm as is proposed in GB we will just drive people to house parties," he added.

The possible curfew has also raised questions for the hotel industry.

Cian Landers, manager at the Fitzwilliam Hotel in Belfast, said: "One scenario could be - this would be a worst case scenario - that by 10pm everything closes.

"Customers are just about to finish their meal - do we send them to their bedrooms? No, we can't enforce that.

"We would have people sitting down to dinner at 9pm so I would be hoping for something later - 10pm seems a bit unfair," he added.

The Hotels Federation in Northern Ireland has called for an all-island approach.

In the Republic of Ireland, drink-only pubs will have a 23:30 curfew.

Janice Gault, the federation's chief executive, said: "The reason it is going to be 10pm in Britain is so there won't be border leakage, whereas here you can nip across the border for that last hour.

"Also we are staggering bookings so we don't have congestion - you are able to sanitise and turn tables and you can get a reasonable turnout.

"If that gets earlier, for some businesses it won't be sustainable."