Workers may pay for loss of nerve

PUBLIC confidence in Health Minister Micheál Martin’s ability to deliver the controversial ban on smoking in the workplace is visibly waning following his last-minute decision to exempt hotel bedrooms, hospices, psychiatric hospitals and nursing homes from the legislation.

People can be forgiven for viewing this as a climbdown just a fortnight after signing the new smoking regulations into law. Prisons, garda station cells and outdoor workplaces had already been exempted.

The question being asked is how many other aspects of the anti-smoking package will the Government change on the pretext of avoiding legal challenges.

Other changes are expected since the Attorney General is examining the definition of ‘dwellings places’, where the ban will not be enforced. Will it apply, for instance, to B&Bs and guest houses?

Despite Mr Martin’s uncompromising statements, the anti-smoking package is starting to unravel. Yet, most people support this health initiative, rejecting the drive by publicans to stop the ban on smoking in pubs, bars and restaurants.

The public has grown tired of the publicans’ campaign of opposition which is widely perceived as being less concerned with health considerations than with profit margins.

On foot of the changes, opponents of the ban are beginning to smell victory. Instead of coming into force on January 26, the law will not be implemented until early February.

In health terms, the implications of the minister’s U-turn could be extremely serious. Hotel workers, mainly women employed in cleaning bedrooms, fear they will be exposed to the well-established cancer risks associated with passive smoking.

Potentially, this opens an appalling vista of legal actions against both employers and the State on grounds that legislation designed to protect the health of workers has been diluted, exposing many to extra hazards.

Politically, Mr Martin does not come well out of this scenario. Having made most of the running up to now, holding the line against the publicans, as well as winning popular support, and also securing the backing of opposition parties in the Dáil, like it or not, he is now perceived as watering down the impact of the ban.

Observers believe he is capitulating to pressure from grass-root Fianna Fáil deputies who fear a backlash from aggrieved smokers in next summer’s local elections.

Assuming there are valid legal reasons for altering the regulations, then Mr Martin deserves to be roundly criticised for apparently failing to ensure that such complex legislation was fine-combed for snags long ago. To say the least, the efficiency of his department is in question.

Given the minister’s determination to press ahead with proposals that were first mooted last January, it defies credulity that the Attorney General is only now redefining aspects of this explosive measure.

Nobody will be surprised if other regulations are changed as officials in the Department of Health and the Attorney General’s office were still drafting amendments yesterday. Each change puts back the implementation deadline by three months once the EU has been notified.

That further difficulties face Mr Martin is reflected in stern criticism of exemptions to the smoking ban voiced by prison officers and unions representing hotel workers. Furthermore, the Irish Hospitality Industry Alliance is seeking legal advice on the discrepancy between hotels, B&Bs and guest houses.

It would indeed be a travesty for workers to be exposed to cancer risks by a Government widely perceived as losing its nerve over legislation designed to protect public health.