Restaurants and no-shows have become a bread and butter issue

All of us have occasionally failed to show up for a restaurant reservation. If, for whatever reason, we forget to ring to cancel, most of us will have a guilty feeling. However, the question as to whether we should also suffer a financial penalty in such circumstances has led to one of the more unlikely business showdowns of the summer.

In one corner is the Restaurant Association of Ireland (RAI) which wants its ...