Martin vows to get tough with smoking rebels

The Galway pub blatantly flouting the smoking ban was given an ultimatum tonight as Health Minister Micheál Martin vowed to crack down on any breaches of the new law.

The Western Health Board warned Fibber Magee’s it had until 4pm tomorrow to re-implement the ban on smoking in the workplace before it acted.

It emerged tonight that the board would move against the rebel pub by seeking an injunction in the High Court on Friday to stop it breaking the law.

Pub landlord Ronan Lawless said he and his co-owner would be seeking legal advice to decide what their response would be.

Mr Lawless said another of his group of pubs in the city would be allowing smoking, as a bar in Cobh also joined the protest.

A spokeswoman for the health board said it issued two warnings to the pub in the past 36 hours to stop breaching the Public Health (Tobacco) Amendment Act 2004.

The board said it had now served formal notice on the co-owners, Mr Lawless and Ciaran Levanzin, that it would seek the court injunction to stop them breaking the law.

Mr Martin insisted the state would use every means at its disposal to uphold the law as a second publican moved to openly allow smoking on his premises.

As landlords across the country expressed support for the stance taken by the co-owners of Fibber Magee’s pub in Eyre Square, Mr Martin insisted there would be grave consequences for anyone who followed suit and broke the fledgling law.

“There will be no holds barred in terms of taking this head-on and upholding the law in all its aspects,” he said.

“Every single legal avenue that is open to the health board will be pursued to make sure this clear, open challenge to the edifice of the smoking law is defeated.”

Mr Martin said there would be no going back or review of the smoking ban, which came into force on March 29.

“It’s been very reasonably applied and there’s been a general acceptance,” he said.

“I accept that some smokers have found it difficult of course but... a lot of people have stopped me in the street saying keep with it and stick with it.

“It would be a huge disservice to the vast majority of the people if we were to go back now because it’s been a great story for modern Ireland.”

Mr Martin said that three months into the operation of the ban there was no evidence to suggest pubs were going out of business.

But Mr Lawless said he expected many other publicans to join his protest.

The first to step forward was Danny Brogan, the owner of Connie Doolan’s pub in Cobh, Co Cork, who said he had been watching his business go down the drain since the ban was introduced.

“All we want is a compromise so the public can make their own decisions,” he said.

“To me, it’s not breaking the law, it’s survival.”

Mr Brogan, like Messrs Lawless and Levanzin, said he decided to breach the new law after a disastrous loss of business at the pub.

Mr Lawless said he and his business partner were receiving a lot of support and he expected more pub owners to join the protest.

“Before the end of the evening I think there will be a lot more,” he said.

“I’ve had calls coming in from publicans in Dublin whose businesses are devastated and they feel the same way as me that they have absolutely no choice. If they want to remain in business and protect their livelihood they’re going to have to flout it as well.”

Mr Lawless said he believed five other pubs in Galway and more from around the country would join him in flouting the law.

“Dublin, Cork, Limerick, Kerry, there’s meetings being held left, right and centre at the moment, so I think by the end of the evening I won’t be on my own,” he said.

The owners of premises who break the law risk fines of up to €3,000 for each breach of the smoking regulations.

Mr Lawless said he was prepared to suffer any consequences that followed his stance.

“I’ll pay fines if they come to me, I’m just making a stand for my livelihood,” he said.

“I’m giving the people the choice to either smoke in one part of the pub or not smoke in the other, it’s as simple as that.

“If the fines come, the fines come, I’m damned if I don’t. I’m either going to be put out of business or I’m going to go out of business, one or the other.”

The Vintners’ Federation of Ireland, which represents Irish publicans, said they could understand the frustrations linked to loss of business, but they could not condone anyone breaking the law.

Health officials were expected to visit the pubs later. They can impose a fine for each time the law has been broken and institute proceedings where the owner could possibly lose his licence.

The decision to flout the ban was met with frustration by some groups.

Professor Luke Clancey, chairman of anti-smoking group Ash Ireland, said the law protected people against harmful smoke.

“The eyes of the world are on Ireland and this is a hugely important initiative,” he said.

“To think it could be jeopardised because somebody believes this is why his profits are down is disappointing.”