The starting date for the ban on smoking in all workplaces, including pubs and restaurants, is expected to be announced within a fortnight.
The Minister for Health, Mr Martin, yesterday refused again to name the start date for the ban but said he would be revealing it shortly.
He is awaiting advice from the Attorney General, Mr Rory Brady, on whether or not the Office of Tobacco Control has the power to authorise health and safety officers to inspect the wider workplace for compliance with the ban.
If it can, and the early indications are that this will not be a problem, these officers will be able to supplement the relatively small number of environmental health officers who are due to police the ban in the hospitality sector.
Meanwhile a publican in Cicero in New York state has succeeded in gaining a waiver from the smoking ban there.
There are two qualifications businesses in Onondaga County have to make in order to be eligible for a waiver - they must show a significant loss in revenue and they must provide an area for people who don't want to be exposed to smoke.
Bar owner Mr David A. Damon Jr, owner of Damon's Party House, went to county officials to request such a waiver on the grounds he had lost 40 per cent of his profits since the ban had been introduced and his bar had a separate room suitable for a smoking lounge.
Mr Damon (69) told the New York Times: "I didn't just lose the smokers - I lost the friends of the smokers." He laid off his only employee, a part-time bartender, and was using his retirement savings and social security checks to keep the bar open.