Time ripe to resolve pub ban row

IF Equality Minister Willie O'Dea is feeling totally frustrated over the entire controversy involving publicans and Travellers and the issue of equality, it would be hard to blame him.

When publicans threatened blanket bans on Travellers, which might have developed into a nationwide one, after a rumpus in Westport, the seriousness of which has been disputed, the minister intervened.

Effectively, he brokered a truce between both parties. His predecessor, John O'Donoghue, had already asked the Commission on Liquor Licensing to review the question of the legal limits on a publican's right to refuse admission and to serve alcohol.