IHIA seeks to halt smoking ban under EU law

The Irish Hospitality Industry Alliance (IHIA) has claimed the proposed workplace smoking ban fails to meet a European Union directive and could be legally challenged if it is introduced next month.

The European Commission has said it believes the ban could go ahead as planned.

Mr Finbar Murphy, chairman of the IHIA, said they were prepared to legally pursue this matter "as far as is necessary". He said that he had received legal advice that the ban proposed by the Government fails to meet the requirements of EU Directive 98/34 on two counts.

Under Article 9.3 of the directive, member states are obliged to halt any draft technical regulation for one year if the Commission signals "its intention to propose or adopt a directive, regulation or decision on the matter."

Mr Murphy noted the Health Commissioner, Mr David Byrne, said last September the Commission was considering introducing an EU-wide ban on smoking in workplaces, based on the Irish model and enforced under worker protection legislation. Plans for such a ban were at an early stage, the Irish Commissioner said, adding there was no timescale for it to be introduced.

Mr Murphy argued the proposed Irish ban should be halted for 12 months from the date planning for the larger pan-European ban began. "If the Government or the EU are arguing that the Commissioner's intention was announced only after the Irish smoking ban was proposed, records show that the EU had plans in this regard going back before the Irish ban was proposed," he said.

The IHIA chairman said a second article in the same directive specifies circumstances in which Governments may be obliged to submit a risk assessment with proposed technical regulations. He said legal advice received by the IHIA is of the opinion the smoking ban regulations required such a risk assessment and he was aware of no such assessment being submitted to the EU.

"We are calling on the Government to acknowledge this situation and to delay implementing its smoking ban regulations until the European Commission's proposals are published," Mr Murphy said.