A restaurateur says the approach to hospitality has to change going into 2022.
Pat Crotty, owner of Paris Texas bar and restaurant in Kilkenny, says those who invested in outdoor facilities and ventilation have to see dividends in the next year.
The hospitality sector will shut at 8.00pm this New Years Eve.
And Mr Crotty told Late Breakfast this will simply drive people to house parties.
"Last year we had none at all, we were completely shut down from Christmas Eve.
"So it was entirely house parties last year, and I think it's going to be the same.
"Like Halloween or things - you don't celebrate it on a different day - if Halloween falls in the midweek it can be a damp squib, if it falls on the weekend it's great.
"New Years is the same: it won't happen at 8 o'clock, it'll happen at 12 o'clock - and we'll be closed and gone home.
"It changes the whole dynamic, it changes everything, it's just putting the tin hat on what has been a very difficult year".
He is questioning how lockdowns still seem to be the only talking point to stem cases.
"Are we going to get locked down again? Have we not thought about any other way to live with COVID, other than closing hospitality?
"There are a huge number of publicans who have spent a fortune - money they probably didn't have in a lot of cases - to listen to the science, to listen to the Government and the health officers and spend a fortune on outdoor facilities.
"Huge investments - and where's the dividend?
"You can be in Dundrum Shopping Centre, you can be at lots of other things in crowds indoor, and you can't be outdoors."
And he says the approach has to change in 2022.
"We have to learn to live with COVID, we have to provide dividends for people who doing the things that the science tells us to do.
"In 2022, we have to come up with a better solution to living with COVID other than just closing hospitality".
And he says the 8.00pm closure has taken away the best hours they have.
"You're taking out the busiest hour or two of the food business.
"If you look for a booking, you're looking for 7.30 to 8 o'clock - most people - that is your peak time for food service.
"And for people who are drink-based, it's the later hours between 10 o'clock and 12 o'clock - they're your peak hours."
