The Mandate trade union has said research published by Dublin publicans that claims 2,000 jobs have been lost due to the smoking ban is based on publicans' opinions and not on an independent economic assessment.
In a statement issued in response to the Licensed Vintners' Association's claims today, Mandate,which represents workers in the retail and pub trade, said its membership in the bar trade was stable since the introduction of the ban in March.
The union's d ivisional o rganiser for l icensed t rade , Mr Eddie Cassidy, said the LVA's assessment is based on market research conducted among pub owners and managers and cannot be relied upon as a proper independent economic assessment of the impact of the ban.
"Mandate represents almost two thousand bar workers, mainly based in Dublin, the area covered by the LVA.
Since the new legislation has come into effect our membership figures have remained stable and we have not seen any decline in job numbers of the order claimed by the LVA ," he said.
"The LVA's study is based on subjective interviews with over 270 publicans around Dublin. They were asked to describe how they viewed its impact, to estimate the effects the legislation has had and predict the future.
"This material is clearly entirely unreliable as a proper economic assessment as it is not based on hard financial or economic data. Indeed, it's interesting to note that the publicans' estimates of their sales figures are way out of line with the hard data available, such as the drink sale figures produced by the Central Statistics Office as well as the drinks manufacturers themselves," Mr Cassidy said.
He said the only economic assessments that should be relied upon are those based upon the use of objective data, such as tax receipts, employment statistics and bankruptcy data.
" In addition, such assessments need to control for overall economic trends and be conducted by an independent agency, as well as being peer reviewed. "
"The publicans say that the current climate is unfavourable for the licensed trade. Any objective observer would have to say that there are many factors contributing to this climate including the current economic situation, the price of drink, changing working patterns and lifestyles, as well as a number of changes in the law. "
Mr Cassidy said what is certainly clear and can be relied upon is that there is overwhelming compliance with the smoke-free workplace legislation which is protecting the health of workers and the public and he thanked members of the public for their co-operation with the ban.
The LVA research found that, on average, Dublin pub sales are down by 16 per cent.Some 277 pubs owners or managers, representing around half the Dublin trade, were interviewed.
Mr Donall O'Keeffe, chief executive of the LVA, said: "For the first time, independent research amongst the licensed trade confirms the harsh reality of the economic impact of the smoking ban on our members.
"The majority of Dublin publicans have described the current business climate as being very unfavourable — without a doubt, the smoking ban has compounded this state of affairs."