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• Shaun sees there's no smoke without ire 

NORTHERN Health Minister Shaun Woodward paid a visit to Dublin yesterday to learn about the smoking ban - with a view to deciding on whether an identical move should be made north of the border.

But in a reminder of the difficulties associated with the ban, a Dublin pub which has temporarily closed its smoking area ended up being chosen as the venue for a photo call. However, Mr Woodward and Social Affairs Minister Seamus Brennan seemed happy enough as they sipped pints of Guinness in Doheny and Nesbitts...

Nicola Carruthers, chief executive of the North's Federation of Retail Licensed Trade, yesterday said she hoped Mr Woodward would go a bit further than Dublin on his fact-finding mission, as Northern publicans understood from their southern counterparts that many pubs in rural areas had been hard hit by the ban and thousands of jobs had been lost in the hospitality industry.

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