Paul Connaughton Snr (Galway East, Fine Gael)

The Minister of State should be able to give a good reason for the Government changing tack on this matter. Deputy Reilly is a medical doctor and knows more about the effects of tobacco than I do but one does not need to be a medical doctor to know what nicotine has done to thousands of people Members know so well. I had to smile at Deputy Wallace, who put much work into this in the past, when she said she never knew a person who was not sorry for having started smoking and never knew a person who enjoyed it. She was wrong on one point - they are sorry they started but they do enjoy it. If they did not, they would stop. If I see people smoking I see it as their prerogative. If that is what they want to do, well and good. With this Bill, which is part of a much bigger business, we have the opportunity to ensure everything is black and white. As far as this is concerned, people will know that if they break the law there will be a certain penalty, with no deviation. I hope the Minister of State will give us an insight into why there was a change in the past few weeks.

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