The body that represents restaurants is warning that 90% of them may not reopen even when the Covid 19 pandemic is over.
The Restaurants Association of Ireland claims 120,000 jobs could be permanently lost in the next two months.
It’s calling on the government to intervene to prevent the industry from collapsing.
That’s a view shared by Restaurateur Oliver Dunne who runs Bon Appétit and Beef and Lobster, in Dublin and Galway.
He said that he explains it to people that if their mortgage was at full cost, but their salary dropped by 80%, could they still afford the mortgage? That is the situation many restaurant owners find themselves in now.
“There is going to have be something done to give the landlords a break, which would then pass on to the restauranteurs, otherwise every restaurant is going to go bust and there’s going to be nobody there to replace them.”
