ireland public-health
What counts as a surrounded perimeter in Ireland?
<p>According to the <a href="https://www.tobaccocontrollaws.org/files/live/Ireland/Ireland%20-%20PHA%202004%20-%20national.pdf" rel="nofollow noreferrer">2004 amendment</a> to the 2002 Public Health (Tobacco) Act, which I believe is still legally binding, smoking tobacco is prohibited except in certain conditions. Among them are the following:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>(7) This section shall not apply to—</p>
<p>(a) a dwelling,</p>
<p>(b) a prison,</p>
<p>(c) subject to paragraph (d), a place or premises, or a part of a
place or premises, that is wholly uncovered by any roof, whether fixed
or movable,</p>
<p>(d) an outdoor part of a place or premises covered by a fixed or
movable roof, provided that not more than 50 per cent of the perimeter
of that part is surrounded by one or more walls or similar structures
(inclusive of windows, doors, gates or other means of access to or
egress from that part),</p>
</blockquote>
<p>It is that last portion that I am curious about. In standard mathematical usage, the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Perimeter" rel="nofollow noreferrer">perimeter</a> of a zone is its linear bound.</p>
<ul>
<li><p>So, for instance, under this interpretation, if one side of the space is the entrance to my establishment, and I put a two-foot wall (say) on two of the other three sides, then it is illegal to smoke tobacco in that region?</p>
</li>
<li><p>Contrariwise, perhaps the law is based on surface area instead. If I put up three walls, each of which covers 51% of the region between itself and the roof, is it illegal to smoke tobacco in that region?</p>
</li>
<li><p>Is there some other criterion for the minimum amount a wall must surround on this perimeter? For instance, perhaps a 45% height wall is not considered a wall at all, and so if I have a 90% height wall, and two 49% height walls, in addition to the wall that contains the entrance, smoking can be permitted, even though there are walls on three sides and more than 50% of the total area is covered. If a wall has to go from floor to ceiling, I can easily create a smoking space that is walled in putting in a 6-inch gap, say.</p>
</li>
<li><p>For that matter, is the wall (presumably with an entrance) between the outdoor part and my establishment included in the perimeter, under any of those interpretations?</p>
</li>
</ul>
<p>Which of these meanings, or any other, is at play in Ireland's laws regarding public smoking?</p>

<p>The word &quot;perimeter&quot; must be read in line with the <a href="http://www.irishstatutebook.ie/eli/2005/act/23/section/5/enacted/en/html#sec5" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Interpretation Act 2005, Section 5(1)</a> if there is any doubt about the meaning of the word:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>5.—(1) In construing a provision of any Act (other than a provision that relates to the imposition of a penal or other sanction)—</p>
<p>(a) that is obscure or ambiguous, or</p>
<p>(b) that on a literal interpretation would be absurd or would fail to reflect the plain intention of—</p>
<p>(i) in the case of an Act to which paragraph (a) of the definition of “Act” in section 2 (1) relates, the Oireachtas, or</p>
<p>(ii) in the case of an Act to which paragraph (b) of that definition relates, the parliament concerned,</p>
<p>the provision shall be given a construction that reflects the plain intention of the Oireachtas or parliament concerned, as the case may be, where that intention can be ascertained from the Act as a whole.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>In this case, the word &quot;perimeter&quot; would likely be given its ordinary, plain, every-day meaning. That is not the same as the &quot;standard mathematical usage&quot; of the word.</p>

<h2>A wall is a wall no matter how tall or open it is</h2>
<p>That’s what the “inclusive of windows, doors, gates or other means of access to or egress from that part” means.</p>
<p>So a full solid wall can only be on 50% of the sides. As can a 3 foot high wall. Or an awning that comes down 2 foot from the roof.</p>
<p>At least 50% of the perimeter must be completely open from the ground to the roof.</p>
