To ask the Minister for the Economy whether sports clubs, operating licensed premises as part of their wider operation, will be eligible for support under the Wet Pubs Business Support Scheme.

In order to qualify for the Wet Pubs Business Support Scheme a business must be in receipt of the Localised Restrictions Support Scheme (LRSS).

Eligibility criteria for the LRSS states that a sports club that operates, or contracts in the operation of, its own clubroom, bar or restaurant within their sporting premises – in other words, not a licensed facility operated by an independent business – is not eligible for support under the LRSS scheme.

A completely separate business that operates a licensed bar or restaurant independently of a sports club, but from within the grounds of a club, may be entitled to support from the scheme. Likewise standalone social club premises, ‘working man’s clubs’, or other similar businesses or establishments (that may or may not have a sporting club name affiliation or not) will be eligible to apply for support under the LRSS scheme and therefore will be eligible for the Wet Pubs Business Support Scheme.

The Wet Pubs scheme was established to offer support for those traditional pubs that faced increased restrictions last summer, sports clubs with bars within their premises that are used to supplement the income of clubs fall outside the policy intent of this scheme and these clubs have been entitled to support from schemes operated by the Department for Communities.