Madam, - I write to express my sympathy with Ronan Lawless of Fibber Magees in Galway. Here is a man who has seen his business plummet primarily, though not exclusively, because of the smoking ban and who felt his only option was to defy the law. Mr Micheál Martin's claim that this action was a slap in the face for the people of Ireland is ridiculous. This law was enacted, not by a referendum or even a vote in the Dáil, but by ministerial diktat.
I feel under no obligation to obey this law and do so only when absolutely necessary. I sincerely hope that other publicans will offer choice in other parts of the country. The smoking ban is finally being treated with the contempt it deserves. - Yours, etc.,
AIDAN O'CARROLL, Mount Argus Close,
Kimmage, Dublin 6.
Madam, - The ignorance and selfishness of Irish people once again takes my breath away. You'd think that a person would be used to the vagaries, or indeed vulgarities, of Irish life, but not when publicans are concerned.
I am of course referring to the flouting of the smoking ban in Galway and Cobh. The sheer disregard demonstrated by these publicans for the health of others is utterly amazing. Even worse are the customers who applaud their actions. Roget's Thesaurus does not have adequate words for their stupidity and reckless disregard.
Must the addictions of a minority dictate the health of the majority? It makes me ashamed to be Irish when stories like this come to the fore. - Is Mise,
JOANNE NÍ CHRÓINÍN, Cork.
Madam, - The workplace smoking ban is not about punishing publicans or smokers but rather protecting the rights of the non-smoker.
Passive smoking has been proven to cause lung cancer. Its effects of passive smoking were proved long before a smoking ban was ever proposed in Ireland but publicans never put forward an initiative to protect non-smokers. It was only in the weeks before the start of the ban that a shabby set of proposals for separate smoking rooms and ventilation were drawn up by publicans' groups.
This week we have seen publicans openly defying the ban, claiming that they will be out of business if they do not have a cancer-causing agent in their bars. Also reported this week is the fact that publicans were losing trade to home-drinkers a year before the smoking ban came about. In their arrogance, publicans refuse to even consider their high prices could be the reason for a drop in trade.
To conclude, if the public needs to see just how greedy and conceited publicans are they should look towards Galway and Cobh. There a group of idiots have been breaking the law, and endangering health before they would even consider lowering their prices.
CHRIS DONOGHUE, (Part-time barperson),
Mourne Road, Drimnagh, Dublin 12.
Madam - As a student and a smoker I feel I have to commend the owners of Fibber Magees pub in Galway for allowing smoking this week in a part of their building clearly separated from non-smoking areas. Is this not a perfectly reasonable compromise between both the rights of smokers and non-smokers? Does this not also show that the Minister is incorrect when he asserts that the ban is progressing smoothly?
It is patently unacceptable that hundreds of people like myself are forced to stand outside in the wind and rain if we wish to smoke when visiting a pub. It is imperative that the Minister considers a compromise solution allowing local authorities to licence both smoking and non-smoking pubs.
The alternative is the end of the Irish pub - supposedly the best in the world. - Yours, etc.,
BEN WEATHERILL, Crosthwaite Park East, Dun Laoghaire, Co Dublin.
A chara, - The debate on the smoking ban has been reopened by the backlash from some publicans and smokers.
But non-smokers also have problems arising from the ban. Permitting smoking in outdoor areas beside licensed premises was a compromise - an Irish solution. Many non-smokers like me object to this exemption.
It encourages litter and noise outside pubs and bars. As a fresh air fan, I used to enjoy sitting in outdoor areas of restaurants and pubs during fine weather. Now, beer gardens and public patios from Dalkey to Donegal reek with the stench of concentrated tobacco smoke.
The relevant exemption should be reviewed with a view to its withdrawal.- Is mise,
TONY QUINN, Dalkey, Co Dublin