Alan Farrell (Dublin North, Fine Gael)
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I want to touch on the matters I briefly mentioned during our initial deliberations on the matter. As Senator Harte mentioned, a decade or two ago it would never have been considered that smoking in a public place was not appropriate. People smoked because of their need to fuel their addiction. I was a smoker for 15 years and I have been off them now for over three years. I was recently in Spain for a long weekend and while I was in an outside section of a restaurant a person lit up a cigarette. That would not be permitted in Ireland but it is acceptable there. I found it terrible to have somebody smoking nearby while I was eating.

Society moves forward. Sometimes it is a little slow to do so and other times it takes innovation and innovators to take a bold step, as we have done in this country on a number of issues. The introduction of the smoking ban in pubs was one such step. In 15 or 20 years time it may be the case that smoking in public areas would be socially unacceptable. It is getting that way as we speak. Senator Crown attempted to bring legislation forward on this matter previously or there was a discussion about banning smoking in the Houses of the Oireachtas. I would not advocate it at this time but I might in the future. When I walk past smokers, particularly outside Leinster House 2000, I take a deep breath and exhale when I get past them because I do not like the smell of it.

Society moves on and this petition has merit. It would be interesting to get the Department's response to it. My personal preference is that we would wait a few years before introducing a complete ban on smoking. It is something society will request. One or two people do not make a society. However, in 15 years' time when we start to get hundreds of people calling for it, advocacy groups writing regularly to the newspapers calling for it, or people going on air to "talk to Joe" about it, I am sure we will then be ready to take that step together as a society. I would be interested to learn what the Minister, Deputy Reilly, and the HSE have to say on the matter.