A pagoda-style smoking area in a Donegal pub is not exempt from the smoking ban, a High Court judge ruled yesterday.
The Fisherman’s Inn, Main Street, St Johnston, had built a wooden structure with a perspex-type roof for smokers.
But the health authorities said it was effectively a “room within a room” because it is surrounded by four walls of the main premises. The pub owners, St Johnston Taverns Ltd and directors Martin and Ann-Marie Toland, were prosecuted under smoking ban legislation on February 2nd, 2011.
District Judge Seamus Hughes dismissed the case, however, but decided to state a case to the High Court in which its opinion was sought as to whether his findings were correct in law.
The president of the High Court, Mr Justice Nicholas Kearns, found the district judge was incorrect in holding that the smoking area was “outdoor” within the meaning of the Act.
He said the district judge’s finding appeared to be based on evidence given by the pub proprietors’ architect. He said the pagoda structure was “entirely enclosed by stone walls” and he agreed with the description given by the health authorities.