The Fine Gael leader, Mr Enda Kenny, had no alternative but to sack Mr John Deasy as the party's spokesman on justice, following his flouting of the ban on smoking in the workplace at Leinster House on Tuesday night.
Mr Deasy's behaviour, as an elected representative, was unacceptable; as Fine Gael's spokesman on justice, it was contemptuous and arrogant. Having formally supported the legislation on behalf of his party as it passed through the Dáil, the example he set for the general public by breaking the law, ignoring the protests of staff in the members' bar and insisting on smoking, could not be tolerated.
The Fine Gael leader explained the decision by saying that no individual or politician was above the law and that Mr Deasy had made his own position untenable. Elected representatives must lead by example and take responsibility for their actions, Mr Kenny went on, and he had to enforce high standards within the Fine Gael party.
This is not the first occasion on which Mr Deasy and Mr Kenny have had sharp differences. The assertive young Waterford TD challenged party policy in the past and got away with it. Most recently, Mr Kenny was said to be furious when Mr Deasy undertook to support the Government's referendum to restrict citizenship rights for the Irish-born children of non-nationals, provided it did not coincide with the local and European Parliament elections. The smoking incident could not, however, be ignored without causing serious damage to Mr Kenny's own prospects of leading an alternative government.
Once the offence was brought to the attention of the Oireachtas Joint Services Committee of Leinster House on Wednesday, there was no way back for Mr Deasy. The Committee had already endorsed the full implementation of the smoking ban and, if Mr Kenny had not acted, it would have done so. Under the law, a fine of up to €3,000 may be imposed for a breach of the smoking ban. And the relevant health board is to investigate the matter with a view to possible prosecution.
The incident sends an important message to those smokers coming to terms with the restrictions of the new law. If a prominent politician can be disciplined in such a fashion and then face prosecution through the courts, other law-breakers will not be exempted from retribution. Public opinion is firmly behind the Government's efforts to improve the quality of public health and reduce the number of fatalities associated with nicotine addiction. Mr Deasy has to learn the lesson the hard way. Like it or not, there is a new culture on smoking.