(Source: www.pixabay.com)Irish restaurants say they are facing in to one of the toughest winters ever.
The Restaurants' Association of Ireland says business is down in popular tourist towns this summer, due to the bad weather and many hotels now accommodating refugees.
VAT will rise next month from 9 to 13 per cent, and energy costs also look set to increase.
Restaurants' Assocation Chief Executive Adrian Cummins is calling on the government to help in two ways.
Speaking earlier Cummins urged the government to "reinstate the energy support scheme" and to "make sure that the VAT rate stays at 9%".
Cummins warned that without these measures we could see a "huge amount of restaurants and food service businesses closing their doors for the winter"
