The survival and future of the Irish pub will be the overriding issues for publicans at their annual conference today. More than 2,000 pubs have closed in the last decade.

NOW that the Health and Safety Authority has classified environmental tobacco smoke (ETS) as a Class A carcinogen, people who contract cancer as a result will take legal action, exposing the State to crippling litigation that would likely cost hundreds of millions of euro.

The Vintners Federation has responded to Government calls for a decrease in the price of alcohol by demanding a reduction in excise duty.