McDonald's will reopen some of its outlets in Ireland from next week when the COVID-19 lockdown measures in the country will be gradually lifted, reported the Irish national radio and television broadcaster RTE on Tuesday.
The report quoted Paul Pomroy, CEO of McDonald's UK and Ireland, as saying that the company will first open six restaurants in Dublin on March 20 and then the rest of others across the country by early June.
All the restaurants to be reopened during the above-mentioned period will provide drive-through services and no dine-in services will be offered, said the report.
The Irish government has decided to ease its lockdown measures in separate stages starting from May 18 after it has locked down all the non-essential retail outlets in the country since the end of March.
Irish Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine Michael Creed welcomed the decision announced by McDonald's earlier in the day, saying that "McDonald's is a valued key purchaser of Irish produce and an employer of a large number of people throughout Ireland."
According to RTE, McDonald's currently runs 95 outlets in Ireland and is one of the largest purchasers of Irish beef with annual spending of over 163 million euros (about 177 million U.S. dollars).
Besides, the company also spends close to 100 million euros on Irish dairy products such as milk, cheese, butter, and ice cream, said the report, quoting a source from the Irish Farmers Association. (1 euro = 1.085 U.S. dollars) Enditem
