Limerick hotel prosecuted for selling cigarettes to 14-year-old girl

A STAFF member at hotel on the outskirts of Limerick city unlawfully sold cigarettes to a 14-year-old girl deployed by the HSE to test the hotel’s compliance with the sale of tobacco legislation, a court has heard.

At Ennis District Court, solicitor Harry McCullagh, representing Inua Hospitality which owns the Radisson Blu Hotel & Spa, said the prosecution “was the final straw” in the group’s decision to end the sale of cigarettes across its hotels.

CEO of the Cork headquartered Inua Hospitality, Sean O’Driscoll has confirmed the ending of the sale of cigarettes and tobacco products across its 11 hotels stating that it is “due to less consumer demand and also the less stress on personnel regarding their duties and application of the sale of tobacco legislation”.

As part of the move, the hotel group has removed all cigarette vending machines from its hotels.  “Given the reduction in the number of people smoking cigarettes, we feel it is no longer vital for hotels to sell cigarettes. This is based on guest feedback,” said Mr O'Driscoll who added that the move also concerned the protection of its 1,300 employees.

The Inua hotel group last year recorded revenues of €78m and asked on the revenue impact of the non-sale of cigarettes, Mr O’Driscoll said that the move will not have any material impact on revenues.

Mr O’Driscoll made his comments after he was, in his role as a nominee of an Inua hotel firm, Inua Limerick General Partners Ltd, which operates the Radisson Blu and Spa hotel at Limerick was convicted and fined €400 over the sale of tobacco products to a 14-year-old girl on May 20, 2022.

A guilty plea was entered to two summons against Mr O’Driscoll in his role as company nominee.

The HSE prosecution arose after the HSE employed the 14 year old ‘secret shopper’ to test the hotel’s compliance with the sale of tobacco legislation.

The HSE withdrew a prosecution against the Radisson staff member who sold the teenager the cigarettes via a token for a cigarette vending machine.

The court was told the individual remains an employee of the hotel and was undergoing three weeks induction training at the time.

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After hearing the details of the case, Judge Mary Larkin praised Mr O’Driscoll’s move to end the selling of cigarettes across the hotels.

“I can’t argue but that Mr O’Driscoll has dealt with it the right way and it is not going to be dealing or selling any cigarettes or matters upsetting people’s health,” she said.

Mr O’Driscoll said the company implemented the no sale of cigarettes last October “and we have received no negative feedback from our guests”.

The group’s hotels also include Radisson hotels in Athlone, Sligo and Cork. The group also operates the Muckross Park Hotel & Spa in County Kerry along with hotels in Kilkenny, Dundalk, Tullamore and Dublin.