Rebel pubs' U-turn as health board turns up heat

IF the first duty of a revolution is to get away with it, then smokers who lit up in the face of the law have failed spectacularly.

Last night the climbdown seemed complete as four pubs in the Rebel County capitulated in the face of hefty fines and smokers were banished to the great outdoors, no ifs or butts permitted.

Northside of Cork City, Ozzie Peyton, owner of Ozzie's Bar in Dillons Cross, lamented the lack of solidarity among fellow publicans. "If every publican took the stand and came out, we would have beaten this ban," he said.

Southside, Gareth Kendellen, proprietor of Paddy the Farmers', also bowed under threat of a €6,000 fine for failing to display no smoking signs and for permitting smoking in his bar. His u-turn followed two visits from environmental health officers and a written warning that he faced a High Court injunction.

The Southern Health Board left Mr Kendellan in no doubt about alternatives.

Bar owners were warned they faced criminal prosecution if they continued to flout the law. If a premises was found non-compliant by the visiting inspector on four occasions, a maximum fine of up to €24,000 was on the cards. When it came to objecting to licence renewal, the health board would not be found wanting, a statement warned.

Two county Cork pubs the Loft Bar in Bantry and Connie Doolan's in Cobh caved into the pressure.

Dublin's Licensed Vintner's Association (LVA) joined the criticism claiming an independent survey showed Dublin pub employment levels were down 14% since the ban's introduction. Up to 2,000 jobs were lost and pub sales were down 16%, the survey by Behaviour and Attitudes found. Predictions for the future were equally gloomy, with half of the 277 publicans surveyed expecting a further decline in turnover.

However, trade union Mandate said the survey was based "on publicans' opinions and not on an independent economic assessment."

"Indeed, it's interesting to note that the publicans' estimates of their sales figures are way out of line with the hard data available, such as the drink sale figures produced by the Central Statistics Office as well as the drinks manufacturers themselves," said Eddie Cassidy, the union's divisional organiser for licensed trade.