Publicans in Co Kerry are renewing their campaign against the ban on smoking in pubs after the Minister for Health, Mr Martin, set March 29th as the start date for the initiative.
With legal action against the ban still a possibility, 200 publicans from the Kerry Vintners' Association met at the Earl of Desmond Hotel in Tralee to vent their anger at the move. Pub owners in Co Kerry were among the first to organise meetings against the ban last year. Some have threatened not to implement the ban.
While publican Mr Danny Leane said there was a lot of militancy at the meeting, he said no formal decisions were taken because Mr Martin had yet to publish the regulations governing the ban.
Only when the regulations are published will the association decide on its formal response. However, Mr Leane said a small number of those in attendance claimed they were prepared to go to prison if they were sanctioned for any failure to co-operate with the new regime.
"If they don't pay fines they'll have to go to prison and if they go to prison they'll lose their licence. Some people did come up with that," he said.
"Some people are prepared for that but only a few." Mr Leane, who owns the Abbey Inn on Bridge Street in Tralee, said publicans were angry because they feared a significant loss of business.
