THE PLAN: Paul Treyvaud pictured with hotelier and local councillor Niall 'Botty' O'Callaghan and publican John C O'Shea after unveiling 'The Plan' calling for all hospitality to reopen together. Photo: Michelle Crean

By Michelle Crean

Not only did three Killarney businessmen got the country talking this week - but managed to get their new campaign trending at number one on Twitter for hours - as they urgently called for public support to be allowed to reopen as businesses "are on their knees".

'The Plan', an idea by Paul Treyvaud who runs a restaurant on High St, was beamed across Facebook - which has since received 14k views - with the support of Niall 'Botty' O'Callaghan who runs The Fáilte Hotel and is a county councillor, and High St publican and John C O'Shea.

During the live appearance, they called for the Government to listen to their appeal and the public to urgently get behind them and download a letter to give to all TDs in a bid to lobby Government to vote against the Proposed Extension of Part 3 of the Health (Preservation and Protection and Other Emergency Measures in the Public Interest Act) 2020, which is due to take place prior to June 9.

Hotels and bed and breakfasts can reopen services for guests on June 2. However, they say that other businesses such as restaurants, bars and cafes have been given no date as of yet - and the move is going to be "detrimental" in the long term.

They fear that ongoing closures will have catastrophic consequences not just for their own businesses but suppliers, staff and young people needing jobs - with many businesses folding as they won't make it to next season.

In the letter they state that "With no start date for Restaurant/Bars & Cafes etc to reopen, yet an immanent announcement for Irish people to be able to travel abroad, the domestic tourist season will be decimated. Irish people will not book domestic holidays if they don’t know whether they can eat or drink indoors and will simply go abroad. We can not allow this to happen, especially when it can be easily prevented".

They say that they too can reopen with reduced capacity indoors in a safe manner in line with current COVID guidelines.

"All we're asking is to unite all hospitality," Paul told the Killarney Advertiser.
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"There isn't a person in the country who hasn't heard of 'The Plan' by now. We are urgently asking people to download the letter and give it to all their TDs and to put up a poster in their windows calling for all hospitality to open at the same time. Pressure politics is the only way it will work."

Paul explained to viewers watching that everything they are doing is "within the law" and they're not calling for "social disobedience".

"We are entitled to lobby our politicians," Niall 'Botty' O'Callaghan told the Killarney Advertiser.

"At the moment hospitality is so divided, we're just asking for a united push."