Fahey to clarify smoking stance after HSA report

Minister for State for labour Mr Frank Fahey has refused to comment further on the proposed workplace smoking ban until the results of a Health and Safety Authority (HSA) report due next week.

A spokesman for Mr Fahey, who is due to oversee the enforcement of the ban from January 1st 2004, confirmed today the Minister of State had spoken out against the ban at a Parliamentary Party meeting last week.

He also said Mr Fahey would await for the results of a nationwide public consultation process by the HSA, the results of which are to be presented at its October board meeting on October 14th, before commenting on the matter again.

The HSA received more than 150 submissions between April 23rd and May 23rd this year from employer and industry representatives, including the Licensed Vintners Association (LVA), the Vintner's Federation of Ireland (VFI), the Irish Prisons Service and the health boards.

A spokeswoman for the HSA said the concerns expressed were being formulated into a set of proposals concerning the implementation of the ban.

She confirmed that many of the submissions had presented economic concerns at the effect of the ban on their businesses. She said implementation of the ban would remain "broadly the same" although she admitted that "there maybe some alterations".

Speaking about the HSA report in the Dáil last week, Mr Fahey said the "views which emerged in the nationwide public consultation process ranged from those totally opposed to smoking in the workplace on health grounds to those who feel their livelihood would be threatened by an outright ban on smoking in the workplace."

Mr Fahey said depending on the contents of the report "the main course of action open to me is an amendment of the Safety, Health and Welfare at Work (Carcinogens) Regulations. Such an amendment may either be an outright ban on tobacco smoke in the workplace on the grounds that it is a carcinogen or that smoking could be severely limited and controlled in the workplace."

Mr Fahey came in for criticism from Prof Luke Clancy, chairman of Ash Ireland, over the weekend for speaking out against the proposed smoking in the workplace ban.

Prof Clancy said it was it's important that Mr Fahey reiterated his support for the ban.

Fianna Fáil will hold its weekly Parlimentary Party meeting tomorrow.