Let me start with a disclaimer (those of you who know me well will be aware of this already). I do not, never have, and possibly may never support Fine Gael at election time. My reasons are many and varied and for the purposes of this post, largely irrelevant.
In my endearingly opinionated way though 
I decided I would like to comment on this issue. WHAT THE HELL WAS ENDA KENNY UP TO??? I am a wholehaearted supporter of the smoking ban, but in the Dáil – the home of the parliament that enacted the smoking ban – the least one would expect is the facility to smoke outside. Yes, Mr. Deasy’s act was most likely calculated to provoke a reaction and gain him some sympathy and support from voters, but to sack a competent front-bench spokesman when lesser sanctions could have been imposed, seems a cynical, calculated attempt by Mr. Kenny to curry favour with the more militant elements of the anti-smoking brigade.
I find Mr. Kenny’s lack of judgement and of loyalty both appalling and disgraceful. Surely a man who fails to show loyalty or compassion for his colleagues as Mr. Kenny has done, is destined to become yet another failure in Fine Gael’s litany of failed leaders.
But this isn’t about attacking Mr. Kenny or Fine Gael. What it’s about is this: fanaticism on ANY issue doesn’t help anyone. Smoking is a particularly emotive issue in Ireland at the moment apparently (I’ve been abroad for the past few months, but I can only assume it has become worse with the passage of the smoking ban into law), but for the sake of progress, lets try to be rational, and ignore those who exploit these issues for political capital.