Hospitality owners welcome ‘badly needed’ support funding

By Rebecca McGirr

SOUTH Tyrone business owners have welcomed a £40 million support package being put in place by the Stormont Executive to address the detrimental impact of the latest wave of coronavirus.

Over 3,200 businesses will be eligible for a one-off ‘Omicron Hospitality Payment’ with grants between £10,000 and £20,000 being made available to businesses.

This comes after tougher Covid 19 restrictions were introduced by the Executive as a way to help curb the spread of the new variant which now makes up almost 60 per-cent of cases in the North.

From Boxing Day, dancing was prohibited in all hospitality venues and from Monday table service returned with no more than six people being allowed to sit together at a table.

Patrick Mullan, owner of Mullan’s Bar in Cookstown welcomed the grant scheme, saying it was “badly needed”.

He said, “There are a lot of businesses struggling and I would be talking to other bar owners and also restaurant owners in Cookstown and they say things are really bad this year.”

Mr Mullan believed that business was down due to fewer numbers of people from older age groups going out due to a fear of getting the virus at Christmas time.

Emmet Quinn, owner of Tailors House Bar and Restaurant in Ballygawley was pleased by the news of a financial support package being put in place.

deficit

He stated, “This hasn’t been your normal Christmas in terms of numbers and footfall. We are running at a reduced capacity all the time, business still has been good but not what we’re used to, so definitely the financial support to make up the deficit is very welcomed.”

With the rise in Covid 19 cases due to the Omicron variant hospitality businesses have been badly affected by cancelled bookings.

Mr Quinn said, “We are definitely seeing a lot of cancellations with people going into isolation the day of their booking and being unable to attend which has been detrimental to our Christmas trade.”

Announcing the grant, First Minister Paul Givan acknowledged the challenges faced by hospitality. “Businesses in the hospitality sector are facing huge difficulty at what should be their busiest time of the year. The rise in Omicron cases is resulting in cancellations as people understandably exercise caution,” said Mr Givan.

Deputy First Minister Michelle O’Neill said the Executive recognised the ‘losses’ the sector was experiencing and hoped the package would help businesses through difficult circumstances.

She also called for Westminster to reintroduce the furlough scheme as a “matter of urgency”.

Businesses eligible to avail of the scheme include restaurants, cafes, pubs, coffee shops, bistros, snack bars, nightclubs, social clubs and private members clubs, but not sporting clubhouses.

Land and Property Services will directly contact all eligible businesses during the week commencing January 10 to ask them to confirm their details remain the same to enable payments to be made.