A body representing publicans, restaurateurs and the tourism industry has claimed the Government's proposed ban on smoking in the workplace may cost the Exchequer as much as €1 billion a year.
The Irish Hospitality Industry Alliance (IHIA), formed as a lobby group in response to the planned legislation, today issued what it said was the first proper assessment of the potential economic impacts of the ban.
The study predicts a 30 per cent fall-off in sales in the sector, which the IHIA says is the worst case scenario, would cause a potential 64,200 redundancies.
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This would cost the State some €944 million in lost tax revenue and in unemployment benefits, the study claims.
The report estimates a 5 per cent fall in sales would result in a potential 10,700 redundancies, with a total cost to the Exchequer of €157.5 million.
However, the Minister for Health Mr Martin swiftly restated his commitment to the ban today stating there were "no grounds for the recent conjecture that there will be any negative economic impact to this ban".
Claiming that a total ban on smoking was "draconian", the IHIA called for a series of "compromise" proposals, such as voluntary codes of conduct for the industry, the introduction of air quality and ventilation standards and the funding of a €25 million anti-smoking campaign aimed at young people.
The IHIA rejected government and health agency figures claiming that up to 7,500 people die from the effects of environmental tobacco smoke (ETS) each year. While the organisation said no definitive figures were available, it estimated that the number of deaths from ETS in the hospitality sector could be as few as 13.
The self-funding body said its members were willing to "put their hands in their pockets" to pay for two separate studies, one on the effects of ETS in an Irish context and one on the wider socio-economic implications of a total smoking ban.
The IHIA said figures produced by the Minister for Health on the health effects of ETS were inaccurate as they were based on experience in other countries.
IHIA spokesman Mr Finbar Murphy, a hotelier from Ballinacollig, Co Cork, said the body's members had a common objective to protect employment in the sector, while also respecting what the Minister for Health wants to achieve.
"We believe this can be done. We believe the integrity of the ban can be maintained but there still can be compromise," he said.
Mr Peter Brennan, the author of the report said the hospitality industry believed that smoking in the workplace should not be controlled by setting "zero tolerance limits".
The Regulatory Impact Assessment study was carried out by A&L Goodbody Consulting for the IHIA and has today been sent to the Taoiseach, Tanaiste and Ministers for Health, Environment and Tourism.
However, the Department of Health, which received a copy of the full study this afternoon, again stated that smoking will be prohibited in all places of work from next January.
It said the move is designed to protect employees and the public from exposure to the harmful effects of environmental tobacco smoke.
The department said passive smoke exposure increases the risk of stroke by 82 per cent and that exposure in the workplace increased the risk of lung cancer by 40 per cent. Exposure to ETS in the workplace also increased absenteeism and the risk of heart disease.
Being in a room with smokers resulted in exposure to at least 50 agents known to cause lung cancer and to other chemicals that increase blood pressure, damage the lungs and cause abnormal kidney function, the Department of Health said.
"Reducing the enormous burden that tobacco places on the health of the people of Ireland is one of the top priorities for the Minister for Health and Children and the Chief Medical Officer," a statement said.
"About 7,000 deaths in Ireland each year occur as a result of smoking related illnesses. The core issue is the protection of the health of employees and the public from exposure to toxic environmental tobacco smoke. The prohibition on smoking in the workplace is a proportionate and balanced measure to deal with the substantial risks that arise from environmental tobacco smoke."
The IHIA said the Minister for Health is using 14-year-old data from a period when the smoking rate was 28 per cent higher to support the case for the ban.