A growing number of Fianna Fáil TDs, including the Minister for the Environment, Mr Cullen, have voiced their concern over the Government's plan to ban smoking in the workplace, including pubs and restaurants.
Mr Cullen said yesterday he was uneasy about a "politically correct" blanket ban and that similar measures in New York were having a negative effect.
"I would be uneasy about us following what I consider to be the political correctness of the United States and would prefer us to be like our European counterparts who are slightly more irreverent," he said.
"I suppose I'm closer to Berlin than Boston on smoking and obviously like having a couple of cigarettes with a cup of coffee.
"We only have to look at New York to see the effects the ban there has had. Even at this stage Chicago is urging tourists to 'come to Chicago as we have everything New York used to have'."
Fianna Fáil backbenchers are planning to propose a motion at a parliamentary party meeting in September seeking a compromise over the ban which is due to come into effect on New Year's Day.
Mr Noel Davern, a Fianna Fáil TD for Tipperary-South, said up to 50 members of the parliamentary party wanted dedicated smoking rooms or improved ventilation in pubs rather than an all-out ban.
The Minister for Health, Mr Martin, however, has said there will be no "compromise on health" and he is to embark on a series of public information meetings in an attempt to shore up support for the ban.
A spokesman for Mr Martin said recently published research showed that compromise measures, such as ventilation systems, could not safeguard the health of workers.
Despite the claim that 50 members of the parliamentary party want a compromise on the ban, only a handful have voiced their concern.
They include the Minister for Agriculture, Mr Walsh, and Fianna Fáil TDs Mr Noel O'Flynn, Mr Denis O'Donovan, Mr Noel Davern, Mr G.V. Wright and Mr Martin Brady. A number of TDs, including Mr Brady, are understood to be seeking compromise measures, while others declined to comment publicly when contacted yesterday.
Mr Wright told The Irish Times yesterday: "I think there may be room for compromise ... there are a lot of concerns being expressed about the impact on business."
Mr Walsh appeared to soften his earlier opposition to the proposed ban yesterday. He said he had met a group of publicans recently in Cork and they had voiced their concerns about the new regulations. "I promised to pass these on to Mr Martin and I have passed on these representations," he said.
Mr Walsh said that subsequent to the meeting with the publicans, statements were attributed to him which were at variance with his support for Mr Martin's policy.
The latest comments come at a time when the lobbying and public relations battle over the proposed ban is gathering pace. The Irish Hospitality Industry Alliance (IHIA), an alliance of pubs, hotels and guesthouses is hosting a series of information meetings and is providing briefing notes to employers as part of a €250,000 lobbying effort to win the support of local TDs.
Mr Martin is also planning to embark on an information campaign and will speak at a series of meetings around the State in the autumn.
The IHIA claims the "blanket ban" on smoking will cost up to 65,000 jobs and will have a devastating effect on rural pubs, B&Bs, guesthouses and coffee shops. The alliance said yesterday no economic impact study had been conducted and called on the Government to postpone its ban until adequate research was available.