Hundreds of licensees will not have outdoor smoking areas in place by the start of the ban on smoking in public places on July 1, after a mixture of red tape and confusion delayed the process.

These pubs will have to start the first days of the ban with no external areas, according to The Publican, the magazine for the pub industry. This is because many pubs are waiting for planning authorities to process their applications, which can take up to 12 weeks.