Senator John Crown has proposed to put a ban on smoking for all in Leinster House but Independent TD, Finian McGrath is opposed to what he described as “nanny state proposals”.
With Health Minister James Reilly considering proposals to extend the smoking ban to areas like parks and beaches, John Mallon argues that this could be just the start.
Three senators are hoping to introduce legislation that would ban smoking while driving in cars but critics would argue people should be allowed the choice or that such laws would be hard to enforce. What do you think?
Nine things you need to know by 9am: Government may ban smoking in cars, man charged over assault on Irishman in Canberra, and the fishy tale of some Christchurch quake survivors…
A MOTION OF no confidence in the Minister for Justice will be debated in the Dáil next week with Fianna Fáil claiming Alan Shatter’s position is now “untenable”.
The opposition party has been fiercely critical of the Fine Gael deputy’s handling of an ongoing row with Independent TD Mick Wallace.
“The Minister has shown extremely poor judgement of late. In particular, he used private information he received from the Garda Commissioner to undermine an opposition TD on Prime Time last week,” Niall Collins charged.
Shatter is currently facing two investigations by the Data Protection Commissioner and the Standards in Public Office Commission over his actions. He was also forced to clarify the nature of an incident where he was breathalysed by gardaí but could not complete the test because of asthma.
Although the motion of no confidence is unlikely to pass (as the government can table a counter-motion), TheJournal.ie wants to know what you think. Is Alan Shatter’s position as minister untenable?