The managing director of a hotel owned by the Donegal football manager, Mr Brian McEniff, has denied that smoking is permitted in the hotel. This is despite video footage that appeared to show customers smoking in the hotel nightclub.
Sky News Ireland said their secretly filmed footage showed customers smoking in what it described as an enclosed room inside the nightclub of the Holyrood Hotel in Bundoran, Co Donegal.
The hotel is owned by Mr McEniff and run by his son, Mr Seanie McEniff. It is one of 11 hotels in five counties owned by the McEniff Hotel Group. The group also owns holiday homes in Co Donegal.
Mr Seanie McEniff denied last night that smoking was permitted in the hotel or the nightclub. He told The Irish Times that his premises were visited by environmental health officers less than three weeks ago. He said he was issued with a letter last week stating that they were happy that the hotel was implementing the smoking ban.
"There is no smoking in the club or the hotel. In every bar people will try to smoke, in the toilets or in other places," Mr McEniff said.
The chairman of the chain, Mr Seán McEniff, is a Fianna Fáil councillor and chairman of the North West Tourism Authority.
In the Sky News Ireland report broadcast last night, Cllr McEniff said he was surprised at the allegation and he was "quite certain" the ban was being complied with at the hotel. He said it was his brother, Brian, and his son, Seanie, who operated the hotel on a day to day basis.
However, he said that a constitutional case should be taken against the ban.
If people did try to light up they were ejected from the club, Mr Seanie McEniff said.
The fact that the hotel was located four miles from the border "as the crow flies" meant that customers would try to light up even more, he said.
"You can't have doormen watching everybody full time. But if anyone lights up we eject them. When people come in they can try it but they won't get away with it," he said.
He added that the Sky News Ireland video footage also showed lots of people smoking outside the hotel. "If smoking was permitted, why were they outside?" he asked.
He said the smoking ban should have been brought in on a phased basis. He said Fianna Fáil was "damaged" by the ban and did not do well in the local elections because of it.
However, he said he had to respect the law.
"It is the law, and we do our best. We did not get to where we are now by breaking the law," he said.
The allegation that more premises were breaching the ban was described as "unfortunate" by a spokesman for the Department of Health and Children.
He said the North Western Health Board would investigate any incidents of breaches of the ban and would be taking any action necessary to ensure the law was implemented.
"Compliance rates across the country have been extremely good. The ban is popular and, if there are breaches, appropriate action will be taken," he said.