Sunday 23 May 2010

How Dare You Offer Comfort And Shelter!

Last week saw a rather telling court case in Paddyland.

A judge in the Republic of Ireland has ruled that an awning is a roof.

And an area outside a pub with such a retractable roof was not exempt from the smoking ban, Mr Justice Peter Charleton said, at Dublin High Court.

An area furnished with barstools, varnished wooden counters and a large flatscreen TV was a place where, he said, customers could legally "while away their time watching TV, drinking pints and smoking to their heart's content".

Given the high level of rainfall in Ireland, especially during the summer, the judge said people "want respite from the elements" and "don't want their drink to be watered down".

Comfort and shelter were clearly the purpose of this awning."
And that just won't do.

An awning outside the building cannot be allowed because the law was (honest, guv) about victimising smokers protecting the bar staff, err, inside the building. Hmmm.

It was never about health. Was it.


6 comments:

JuliaM said...

Nope. It was about the terrible fear that someone, somewhere, was having fun...

Captain Haddock said...

The answer is simple ..

Remove the barstools & replace with ordinary tables & a few chairs ..

Remove the varnished counters (drinks bought at the Bar can be brought outside)

Remove the flat-screen TV (surely one goes to the Pub to chat with other people, not to watch Telly, one can do that at home) ..

Then claim that the awning is for customers to use whilst waiting for a Taxi ..

none said...

I've got an even better idea...

"inside out pubs"

...alcohol ice cream vans...

empty the pub out, so there's no staff inside, and sell the booze & fags from the van, and people in the building are in a private house enjoying the dweller's hospitality as a private citizen.

there's no future in laws that few people want to follow.

Dick Puddlecote said...

"empty the pub out, so there's no staff inside"

Isn't that what happens now anyway? It's always that way when I walk straight past my local.

d said...

If they really cared about public health as much as they claim to then they would just ban cigarettes, but the sad fact is without the tobacco duty we would still need just as many hospitals and we would have to find the money elsewhere.

Smokers are in the eyes of the govt an easy source of revenue, as well as a handy scapegoat. Did you ever consider why tobacco duty goes up so much in every budget? Simple, because they can. Smokers are addicted and will take whatever tax hike they are given. The only other option is to quit and many can't do that. The govt are a disgrace for this cynical abuse of smokers as an easy source of revenue. Could you imagine the public outcry if they started taxing methadone for recovering heroin addicts? Fortunately the public are so brainwashed into believing smokers are nu-lepers they can get away with it.

JohnRS said...

Where's "Liberty" (or its Irish equivalent" when you need them?

Oh, sorry, of course smokers have no rights of any sort.