Jimmy Harte (Labour)
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I agree that we would listen to the case the petitioner would make if she were to come before the committee. All State bodies, including local authorities, should encourage non-smoking. If we get to the stage in the future that nobody smokes that would be great.

We have to educate people about this. There are two issues involved, one is the public health issue and the other is the visual aspect. It does not look good to see people smoking in amenities and areas of our towns or, for example, on our beaches. It sends out the wrong signal to children in the area that smoking is acceptable. The policing of it is another issue but educating people about the health risks involved is important. If we were sitting here 50 years ago I am sure this room would be full of smoke and no one would even consider asking somebody to put out a cigarette. At that time if one flew from London to Los Angeles, one could smoke and subsequently smokers said that they would find it very difficult to take a ten-hour flight without being able to have a cigarette. We have moved on in terms of smoking.

Deputy Mathews and I visited Taiwan in January. We met representatives of its health authority and they said that smoking is a big issue there because cigarettes are very cheap. It will be a massive problem for them down the line.

We are dealing with the issue here very well. If children aged six or seven are not exposed to cigarette smoking as being a fashionable thing to do or to it being in their face and if that is lessened all the time, eventually smoking will become a thing of the past. I encourage people with these types of petitions to bring them forward for consideration.