Deasy: political straight-talker who became just another loudmouth

THIS week, Waterford TD John Deasy blamed his recent spate of bad press on faceless commentators and nameless editorial writers and their over-the-top reaction to his breaking of the new smoking ban in the Dáil bar last week.

Well, my name and face accompany this article so let me take the opportunity to set out for Mr Deasy why his actions were wrong.

While in the Dáil on the night in question, Mr Deasy wanted to have a cigarette. He asked for a fire door into a back alleyway to be opened so that he could smoke in the open air in compliance with the newly-introduced smoking ban. Access to this area was refused to him by the bar staff because it had not, at that stage, been designated for smoking.