A representative group for businesses in Dublin has called on the Government to provide clarity on a number of issues around the proposals being considered to deal with the spread of Covid-19 in the city.
DublinTown has called on the authorities to provide evidence of how the virus is being transmitted in hospitality businesses that are expected to be curtailed beyond the Level 3 measures contained in the Government's revised framework for Living with Covid.
This new framework was announced on Tuesday.
"If adopted by Government, the advice would see establishments being prohibited from accommodating patrons inside their premises. What evidence is there of virus transmission within these premises?", the group asked in its statement.
It points out that patrons provide contact details on entry to such establishments and that outbreaks would therefore be known if they were occurring.
DublinTown expressed concern that, in the event of the additional restrictions being imposed, many businesses would not survive until the Christmas period.
"Restaurants, cafes and bars form a hugely significant and growing proportion of the city’s consumer facing eco-system. Pre-Covid more people dined than shopped in the city," the group said in its statement.
"Hospitality businesses employed 10,000 people in the DublinTown area alone in 2019. However, these businesses which were closed for three months and re-opened to a turnover which trended at between 25% and 40% of 2019 levels," it added.
It says closures can have a detrimental impact on a street and the surrounding retail outlets, as well as on a city's tourism potential.
