The Minister for Health, Mr Martin, and officers of the Western Health Board have responded in a commendable and forthright fashion to efforts by a handful of publicans to overturn the ban on smoking in the workplace. The licensee of the Galway pub at the heart of the challenge, Mr Ronan Lawless, signalled an end to the protest when he said he was not prepared to go to jail if the health board took out a High Court injunction against him.
At the same time, the health board was preparing to take legal action against those customers who were found smoking in the widely publicised protest.
No attempt has been made to disguise the motivation behind this challenge to the law. Customer numbers and profits were down and the publicans involved sought publicity for their illegal actions as a means of attracting disaffected smokers and remedying their financial situation. It was also hoped the task of policing the new regulations would become impossible if a sufficient number of publicans followed their lead.
The prospect of an extensive campaign of civil disobedience withered and died earlier this week when the president of the Vintners' Federation of Ireland, Mr Seamus O'Donoghue, refused to support the action. The VFI could not condone anyone breaking the law, he said, and it would not encourage its members to do so. While recognising the frustration of members whose businesses had been affected by the ban, he felt the way forward was through some workable compromise.
The Minister for Health has turned his face against such a course of action. Since the smoking ban was introduced, three months ago, research has shown that passive smoking is far more damaging than had been thought and Mr Martin has a responsibility to protect the lives and health of workers. The vast majority of Irish people supported the ban, he said, and there was no evidence that vintners were being put out of business or that the value of pubs had fallen.
Drink sales are indeed falling in Ireland. But that trend preceded the smoking ban. Public debate on the damage alcohol abuse is causing in society may have influenced that development, now that we top the EU league in alcohol consumption. It may also reflect higher prices. Whatever the cause, it cannot be attributed solely to the smoking ban.
What happened this week was a Wild West response to unpalatable legislation by people who should know better. Publicans, in particular, rely on the forces of law and order to protect their interests. And only a handful failed to recognise that reality. The firmness of the Minister's response and action by the Western Health Board have deflected the immediate threat to the health of workers. Now, however, the law must be enforced. Those publicans and individuals who engaged in anarchic behaviour should be held responsible for their actions. Like it or not, there can not be two laws on smoking - one for smokers and another for non-smokers.