A Co Cavan publican has been fined €3,000 plus legal costs for allowing customers to smoke on his premises.
At Ballyjamesduff District Court yesterday, Judge John Coughlan fined Mr Gerard Lovett, proprietor of the Copper Kettle at Main Street, Kilnaleck, €3,000 and awarded costs of €1,009.45 against him for allowing smoking in his pub last September 26th.
Mr Lovett told the court that a Traveller family had booked a christening. There were about 40 or 50 people there. They were from Cavan and they had no transport home. "When they came in, I wanted to keep order, so I told them they could stay until 8 p.m., and they would have to get someone to collect them then. I did not want them around the town drunk, because I had had problems before over that."
Mr G. V. Maloney, prosecuting solicitor, said Mr Lovett was in charge of the licensed premises and smoking was taking place in the premises.
Mr Garret Fortune, defending solicitor, said it was a "one-issue case and concerned reasonable efforts made".
Judge Coughlan said he wanted to know what efforts had been made to stop people smoking.
Mr Barry Coady, an environmental health officer, said he visited the premises on the date in question and detected smoking taking place. There was a man standing behind the bar, and he asked him if he could speak with the licensee.
There were four men smoking on the premises. Mr Lovett had been in the room immediately behind the bar. Mr Coady went out to the street with Mr Lovett to speak with him. Mr Lovett confirmed he was the person in charge, and Mr Coady entered the premises at 4.45 p.m.
The people in the bar were watching the All Ireland football final on television.
Mr Coady continued: "When we entered the premises I could get the smell of tobacco smoke. During our 10 minutes there, we observed four male persons smoking in the premises - three at the bar and one down below the bar.
"We witnessed that bar staff made no effort whatsoever to stop the people smoking."
Two people lit up while he was there with his colleague. He observed that cigarette butts had been put into empty bottles and glasses. "We witnessed the bar staff also picking up glasses around these people who were smoking," Mr Coady said. "They made no effort to stop them."