NIGHTCLUBS ACROSS Ireland could remain closed until next year.
That’s according to one group representing nightlife businesses across the world, who say the current social distancing requirements would make reopening safely impossible.
Restaurants and pubs serving food have already reopened from the today, with strict rules concerning the spacing of tables, booking in advance and a time limit of 105 minutes.
Pubs and other social venues are set to reopen from July 20, with similar restrictions in place.
However, nightclubs are facing an uncertain future according to Give Us The Night, a group representing social-led night-time businesses in Ireland.
They believe it will not be commercially viable for clubs to re-open with social distancing rules in place.
Instead, they are predicting that many venues could be forced to stay closed until social distancing is completely abolished.
“It’s not going to be able to work in nightclubs,” DJ Dan Duffy told Newstalk.
“It’s all well and good talking about it in theory, but once you actually get into the bones of it, it’s never going to work, unfortunately.
"Some of the bigger clubs may be able to open sooner than some of the smaller ones, which might be good for them, but then you're looking at the fact they'll have reduced capacity."
"Will they be able to break even? With so few people in the venue."
See More: Coronavirus, Covid-19, Dublin, Nightclub
