Dublin businesses seek compensation after summit impact

Résumé détaillé

Some Dublin business owners have called for compensation for losses caused by disruption during this week's EU Summit, which saw many workers heed warnings and stay at home.

The sun was bouncing off the Liffey as smiling world leaders arrived at Dublin's Convention Centre for this week's EU Summit.

Warnings about heightened security and road closures were well signposted. There were some protests but little to no violence, and the Government and organisers will likely be very happy about how the week panned out.

But not everyone is smiling. City centre business owners have taken a financial hit, as many Dubliners heeded the warnings and stayed at home to avoid the disruption.

It was particularly difficult for businesses located inside the Garda security cordon around the convention centre, like the Grafton Barber shop in the IFSC.

"We had three days where customers didn't have access to the shop," said the IFSC franchise owner Fabian Pollard. "We had to go out and bring the customers from the barrier into the shop and business was probably down about 50%," he added.

But it wasn't just businesses in the direct vicinity that were hit. Will Monaghan said his café and restaurant, One Society, on Gardiner street was quite badly impacted but it was his other restaurant, three kilometres away in Smithfield that was worst hit.

He said at his eatery Hidden, which relies heavily on city centre workers for custom, revenue was down 60% on the previous week, because companies advised their employees to work from home to avoid the disruption.

"We had almost no trade, I was sitting in work on Wednesday and by 2pm I counted fourteen people had come through the door, that's a disaster," Mr Monaghan said.

"We understood there were restrictions, but what thought was put into the small businesses who have to take on these impacts and absorb these costs? How are we going to be compensated?" he added.

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