New laws will damage hospitality industry
I think it is wrong for this law to come in and really don’t see the point in it.
I am concerned about families and tourists travelling around Ireland with young children. If they go out for an evening meal, it means they can’t go to the bar with their children after 9pm.
There is also the difficulty for the parents of not being able to go out for a drink because they have no babysitters with them. This means at night time they will have to stay in with their children. Not much fun for someone on holidays! They will not be able to go out and socialise in the traditional Irish way.
I don’t think the minister was thinking straight in making this harsh decision. I believe that this law will damage the tourist and hotel industry.
There is also a lot of debate and arguments at the moment over the smoking ban being introduced in January 2004 in pubs and hotels. This law protects workers in these industries from passive smoking.
This idea is sound but I think it should have been phased in over a period of time, and there should be separate areas in the pubs for smokers. The Vintners Association are claiming many jobs will be lost as a result of this law.
The Minister for Health is correct from a health and safety point of view but I would question the implementation of the ban.
Sharon Young (16),
Latteragh,
Nenagh,
Co Tipperary.
