Publicans who refuse to serve Travellers are being blackmailed to pay over money or face the consequences of a formal complaint to the Equality Authority, it was claimed yesterday.
Mr Richard Dunne, president of the Vintners Federation of Ireland (VFI), said some members of the travelling community were abusing the Equal Status Act 200 by actively seeking to be refused service in pubs.
"The individual or individuals refused service follow this up with a threat to lodge a complaint to the Office of the Director of Equality Investigations. "In some cases, money is demanded to stop their formal complaint - in essence, it is paramount to blackmail," he said.
Mr Dunne was speaking at the start of a three-day VFI conference in Westport, Co Mayo.
The conference was also told that the euro is set to cause major headaches for publicans as pubs will be "the first commercial port of call" for many consumers after the changeover date of New Year's Eve 2002.