Out in the cold and now we can’t sit down

FOR us smokers, the one pleasant result of Micheál Martin’s smoking ban has been the proliferation of street seating outside pubs, complete with gas heaters and relaxed, open air conversation.

But there’s a growing nasty problem - the proliferation of non-smokers taking up the tables provided as a result of us smokers being banned from lighting up inside.

There is a simple solution. Just as we have been banned from smoking inside the pubs, non-smokers should be banned from taking up positions in our invaluable al fresco seating spaces.