Kudos of the Month- Micheal Martin

On the occasion of the implementation of the smoking ban, I decided to knock this one back up...

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A while back Elimare made a suggestion that I should (aswell as bitching, moaning and complaining) draw readers attention to people who are doing some good in the world. I think it's a great idea. And besides the vitriol is giving me an ulcer so the change will be nice. Ok so. A deep breath and here we go..

Kudos to Minister Micheal Martin. That's right kids, I'm actually saying something good about a Fianna Fail minister. I know: who would have thunk it?

My reason for this is due to the fact that Minister Martin has stuck to his guns regarding the introduction of the smoking ban in Dublin. I believe this to be a courageous, bold and innovative piece of policy. More than that, I hope that centuries from now (global) historians will look back on this moment and identify it as the first step that society took to truly tackle the staggering power of big tobbaco. Throw in the fact that Martin is recieving enormous pressure from the hugely influential Vintners Association (lovely people) and his audacity and resolve are impressive.

That's not to say that the minister is top of my love list. Au contraire, the medieval state of the Health Service is a disgrace worthy of a tribunal. Also, we still have some time before the ban comes fully into effect - so we'll have to wait and see if it is enforced...

However, just for now Kudos to Micheal Martin.

Oh and: at the time of writing, I'm a smoker.