Irish restaurateurs have called for emergency measures to be put in place after suffering revenue loss in recent water shortages. In an attempt to ease pressure on businesses, the measures would enable the Civil Defence to supply water to the city of Dublin by bringing in water tankers from outlying districts.
Eamonn O’Reilly, proprietor and chef at One Pico, the multi-award winning fine dining restaurant off St Stephen’s Green, has already lost €5,387.80 as a direct consequence of the water shortages. After being forced to close his restaurant when the water ran out at 8.30pm on Friday night, costing Mr O’Reilly around €3,500 in lost revenue, he hired a water tanker from Tipperary the next day at a charge of €1,887.80. Although a member of staff from Dublin City Council’s water department assured Mr O’Reilly that they would arrange a water tanker for him, this did not materialise.
The council has also come under fire from Adrian Cummins, Chief Executive of the Restaurants’ Association of Ireland, after leaving the customer service helpline unmanned from 5pm on Friday. Speaking to the Irish Independent, Mr Cummins said, “The business community pays dearly for water and we have been completely abandoned. This is unacceptable. Emergency measures must be activated for the Civil Defence to come in with tankers of water for the city community, otherwise we’re going nowhere.”
A spokesman for the council has confirmed that the restrictions, which have already left thousands of businesses without water for four nights, will remain in place until Thursday.
