Charlie Chawke, who owns nine bars and employs 400 staff, said his premises, including Searsons in Ballsbridge, are "well capable" of operating social distancing measures. "But the Government has to set out the requirements and open the pubs up," he told the Herald. "From my perspective, a pub is about meeting friends, socialising, being together - all the issues social distancing doesn't lend itself to," he said. "The bigger operations, maybe pubs serving food, might be able to trade, but the small pubs need support. Seven out of 10 publicans in Dublin are also willing to re-open with restricted capacity and social distancing guidelines.

Source: The Herald May 01, 2020 01:39 UTC