The smoking ban has exposed the weakening influence of the vintners' lobby, writes Liam Reid
If opponents of the outright smoking ban still held any hope of compromise, it well and truly evaporated at the Fianna Fáil ardfheis in Kerry last weekend.
There in Killarney, the town that has seen most resistance to the ban, ordinary members of the party clapped and cheered as both the Minister for Health, Mr Martin, and the Taoiseach, Mr Ahern, said they were not for turning.
That support for the ban may also mark a major watershed for Irish politics - the demise of the vintners as the most influential political lobby in the country.
While they might disagree, publicans have until now formed one of the most powerful political lobbies seen in Ireland.
While other markets, from taxis to pharmacies, have been liberalised, reform of pub licensing laws has been minimal. The fact remains that, except in exceptional circumstances, no new pub licences have been issued by this, or any other Government, since the foundation of the State.
While publicans have influence within Fine Gael, it is the influence within the Fianna Fáil party that has been most beneficial, and one which saw the Government backing down on liquor legislation in 1999 following a lobbying campaign by country publicans.
It's a well-worn joke to say that Fianna Fáil is the publicans' party, but the figures available do not suggest that mere numbers alone account for publicans' influence within the party.
It is a fact that a higher proportion of Fianna Fáil politicians come from a pub or drinks trade background compared with other parties. Of the seven TDs listed as current or former pub or hotel owners, only one, Jackie Healy Rae, is not a member of Fianna Fáil. A further two TDs, John Ellis, and Joe Jacob, come from families who have been pub owners.
However teachers, lawyers, and farmers are better represented in the Fianna Fáil parliamentary party than publicans. Yet none of these professions enjoy the same influence as the humble bar owner.
There may also be a perception that the 350 or so Fianna Fáil county councillors include numerous publicans, but the facts suggest otherwise.
According to Sean Donnelly's book on the 1999 local elections, 23 people who list their main occupation as publican were among the 883 county and city councillors elected. Just 11 of these county and city councillors from Fianna Fáil listed their occupation as publican.
In overall terms, publicans were outgunned by farmers in terms of council membership by five to one in 1999. Instead, the influence of the publicans appears to be driven by a number of factors which come together to make them a formidable power in the political landscape.
Publicans are represented by two of the best-resourced lobby groups in the country, the Vinters' Federation of Ireland (VFI), which represents publicans outside of Dublin, and the Licensed Vinters' Association (LVA).
With pubs being the preferred venue for clinics and party meetings, publicans have always enjoyed unprecedented access to their local politicians. Both lobby groups have also been adept at using the corridors of Leinster House to lobby both TDs and ministers. The campaigns were quiet, yet effective. Their lobbying has also been helped by the fact that they are to all intents and purposes represented in the Oireachtas.
Senator Eddie Bohan, of Fianna Fáil, who receives his Seanad nomination from the LVA, acts as a voice for publicans in Seanad debates. Most of his contributions to debates since 1987 have related to the licensed trade.
A popular figure in Leinster House, Mr Bohan has a financial interest in several pubs in Dublin, and is also the main pub auctioneer in the capital. Most importantly, however, Mr Bohan has acted as a conduit in background lobbying of colleagues on both sides of the House, and has proven very effective at doing so, according to Fianna Fail sources.
However perhaps the most important aspect to the vintner lobby's ability to influence is probably because of what is thought to be one of the Taoiseach's golden rules.This holds that taxi drivers and publicans/bar staff are two of the most influential groups in an election, the simple reason being that they speak to more members of the public than any other professions. Their capacity to promote or denigrate a candidate is therefore much greater. Keeping them onside should therefore be a primary political consideration. However the failure of the vinters' lobby to change the Government's mind on the smoking ban is the biggest indication to date that the ability of publicans to influence national policy is in serious decline.
This decline probably dates back to 2000, when publicans were unable to block the introduction of equality legislation, preventing pubs from barring entry on the basis of age or ethnic background.
The decline is further evidenced by the reaction of the Irish Hospitality Industry Alliance, made up mostly of publicans. The IHIA was created by publicans earlier this year to campaign against the outright smoking ban. Its founders believed the tactics of the two pub lobby groups on the proposed ban were ineffective, and that they were unlikely to achieve any compromise. The IHIA's public campaign has been matched by the VFI, whose members are now threatening to ignore the ban when it is introduced.
As some observers have pointed out, however, the fact that the VFI has had to resort to a public campaign is evidence enough that the heyday of the vintners' lobby is well and truly over.