Publican does about turn on smoking ban

THE owner of the bar who said he would have to call time on his business and close his doors as a result of the smoking ban yesterday admitted trade has been unaffected by the ban.

Glenn McLoughlin of the White House in Limerick was so concerned about the potential impact of the ban that he outlined his fears in an advertisement in a local newspaper four months before the ban was put in place.

It read: “With reference to the proposed blanket no smoking ban issued by the Government, we wish to state that without an immediate compromise by Minister Micheál Martin such as a smoking facility for our customers, this historical premises will be left with no option except to close the doors on January 1, 2004.”