Silk Road Cafe closure
Ivana Bacik raises the threatened closure of the Silk Road Cafe and criticises hospitality VAT policy; the Taoiseach says he is investigating the six-month closure and broader employment impact.
The Government says its VAT cut will save the hospitality sector and protect small restaurants and cafes from closure. The reality is that the big winners will be the burger chains. McDonald's alone will make €20 million as a result. The irony is that in my constituency, it is apparently a Government decision bringing about the closure or a successful independent cafe, which is the wonderful Silk Road Cafe in the Chester Beatty Library at Dublin Castle. On Monday, I met the cafe proprietor, Ibrahim Phelan. He and his staff are very distressed. They only learned some weeks ago that the Chester Beatty Library and the cafe will have to close from 15 June until the end of the year in the context of Ireland's EU Presidency. I have submitted a parliamentary question to the Minister of State with responsibility for the OPW, Deputy Moran, to clarify why this drastic closure is necessary. However, I am asking the Taoiseach and his Government colleagues why the decision was only communicated so late in the day with little notice to the 14 staff due to lose their jobs on 15 June. I am also engaging with the Chester Beatty. There is a real concern that this is drastic action only communicated late in the day. There is then the closure of a wonderful cafe that has been in operation there for over two decades and is such a great amenity in the constituency.
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I heard about that last week, and I am making inquiries on that and organising a series of meetings.
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I am not clear as to why the cafe has to close for six months, to be frank. I will pursue that with security and so on. I will do that.
On the hospitality sector more generally, thousands of people work in the hospitality sector. A lot of young people and students work in the sector and so on. It is a cynical Opposition play to talk about McDonald's. They are all owned by franchisees. The Deputy knows that.
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And the very cafes she would advocate for.
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Why does she keep on talking about the big boys? It is individual franchisees in any of these chains. She knows that. The bottom line is we have to sustain employment in domestic services sectors as well.
