Martin under fire as smoking ban woes mount

HEALTH MINISTER Micheál Martin's smoking ban last night looked vulnerable to a raft of legal challenges.

In an embarrassing turnabout, the minister announced last night that hotel bedrooms would be exempted from the smoking restrictions along with psychiatric hospitals, hospices and nursing homes.

Just a fortnight ago, the minister announced categorically that prison cells would be the only areas within workplaces that would be exempted from the ban.