Publicans in Cork are planning to stage a protest at the Fianna Fáil parliamentary party meeting next month to highlight their frustration at a drop in trade.
Publicans from across the county voted unanimously at a meeting in Fermoy this week to take to the streets of Inchydoney in west Cork where politicians are due to gather for the meeting on September 6th and 7th.
The protest is the result of a perceived 20 per cent drop in trade, which the businesses claim is a direct result of the laws which prevent smoking and the presence of under-18s on the premises after 9 p.m.
"Over the past 12 months we've had to introduce both bans which have had a detrimental effect on business," the chairman of Fermoy Vintners Association, Mr Noel McCarthy, said, "and it's about time the Government sat up and took notice of what they're doing to pub culture in this country."
He said his business, Mac's Bar in Fermoy, did not have a beer garden or a shelter for customers and were therefore forced to stand outside.
"There was a general trade drop of about 5 per cent before the smoking ban was introduced but the last straw was the ban. People don't want to smoke outside, they don't like standing outside doors, especially women.
"The feedback we're getting from our customers is that it looks awful and that people feel intimidated having to stand outside. It's dangerous and it takes from the atmosphere inside."
Mr McCarthy said as there was a by-law in Fermoy preventing the consumption of alcohol on the streets, this meant his customers must leave their drinks behind when they go outside.
The law which prevents under-18s from entering licensed premises after 9 p.m., had also hit business hard, he added.
"We're down about 20 per cent now. We're afraid to even think of what we'll be down in the winter months."
More than 200 publicans are expected to take part in the protest on September 6th.