Sir, – Much as I am gumming for a pint, I cannot see how we get pubs open for outdoor drinking in May, as requested by the Licensed Vintners Association ("Dublin publicans want beer gardens open nationwide on May 24th", News, April 20th).
The disastrous experience pre-Christmas makes it an uphill task anyway but the difficulty is compounded by the lack of any real standards.
There is a world of a difference between widely spaced tables (with or without umbrellas) in the open air and putting a lid over a yard, packing people in and calling it a beer garden.
As regards outdoor dining, we also need to be able to distinguish between an actual restaurant where you go to eat and a pub where you are forced to. – Yours, etc,
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KEVIN O’SULLIVAN,
Phibsborough,
Dublin 7.