Ireland’s smoking ban is being blamed for plummeting bar sales within a year of its introduction, but the government insists the smoke-free policy will deliver a big health dividend as more people quit.

As a former pub owner, Power said he had been strongly lobbied by the trade.

“That was natural enough. They had invested their money in a pub. But we have to look at the greater good, the bigger picture, and that is what we did,” Power said.

[Don't you feel better knowing that a condicending nanny is making your decisions for you?]

A survey for the Licensed Vintners Association (LVA), representing 750 pubs in Dublin, said compliance was excellent in the capital but sales are down by 16 percent.

It claims 2,000 full and part-time jobs are being lost in the Dublin pub trade alone.

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