Vintners back smoking ban legal fight

VINTNERS in Galway have voted to fully support a fellow publican who is mounting a legal challenge to the smoking ban.

And in Waterford today, another group of publicans will announce a separate court action against the ban.

Following a special meeting last night, the Galway branch of the Vintners' Federation of Ireland (VFI) said it stood behind Ronan Lawless's attempt to challenge the constitutionality of the ban. Members of the branch voted unanimously to support the Fibber Magees publican, who led a brief rebellion against the ban after allowing smokers to light up in his bar.

Branch chairman Paul O'Grady said it would also be recommending to the VFI national council that it would part-fund the action.

The branch will also call on the national council to enter into negotiations with other industry representatives with a view to them coming on board as well, including the Licensed Vintners' Association (LVA), which represents Dublin publicans.

Mr O'Grady said the Galway branch was calling on the organisations to "pool resources, pool brains and pool opinion".

"The law of the land will be observed," he said. "This is a clear constitutional case on a number of issues."

Mr Lawless's legal team will be headed by former attorney general John Rogers.

However, neither the VFI nor LVA are keen to support legal challenges to the ban, having been advised such cases could be costly and, ultimately, prove futile.

But individual challenges, which have the backing of many publicans, are now mounting.

Members of European Smokers Against Discrimination (ESAD), a new grouping, will announce in Waterford today that they will lodge papers at the High Court within the next fortnight calling for the ban to be suspended pending an appeal.

The group is led by local carpenter James Croke, includes publicans from Germany and the Netherlands, and has already manufactured cigarette lighters which will shortly go on sale in some Waterford pubs.

The lighters inform those buying the product that a percentage of the money will go towards funding ESAD's legal challenge.

Another action is being undertaken by Cork hackney driver Liam O'Riordan, who claims the ban infringes on his civil liberties and constitutional rights.

But a blow came yesterday for the legislation's opponents in the shape of an independent survey which found New York's smoking ban had actually led to an increase in pub and restaurant business there.