James Reilly (Dublin North, Fine Gael)

According to the Irish Cancer Society, we are spending €1 billion on the health-related complications of smoking. Smuggling is a separate issue but there is no question that increasing the price of cigarettes, which the Irish Cancer Society seeks and which I support, will lead to greater to temptation to smuggle but that is an enforcement issue for the Customs Service and the Garda. This is an ongoing battle with regard to diesel, petrol and liquor and it should not influence this debate.

I wish to allude to something the Minister of State said. She stated that this does not represent any weakening of the Government position but I am afraid that is not the message people are getting. It is not the message received by the Irish Cancer Society, ASH Ireland or the Irish Heart Foundation. They all received the message that this is a weakening of the Government's position and a dilution of the effect of the original Act which is to send a sound, loud and serious message to retailers in the country who would seek to make profit by selling cigarettes to minors, thus entrapping them in a life of nicotine addiction and all that goes with it.

One does not have to be a GP or a doctor to understand the pain of watching a loved one die slowly and waste away from cancer, heavily drugged to control the pain. That is what many people who smoke cigarettes face; that is a fact and we know it. That argument is long won and nobody denies the truth of it. I do not want to paint a terrible picture for people who suffer with cancer but while we have cures for many cancers, lung cancer has one of the poorest cure rates and that is the one for which cigarettes are primarily responsible. They also cause throat cancer and are associated with bowel, breast and bladder cancer. Some 10,000 people in this country die annually from cardiovascular disease, of which cigarette smoking is a major cause.

When we are dealing with legislation such as this and its impact, it is no harm to remind ourselves of the reality as it can be a case of out of sight out of mind. We cannot allow it to go out of sight because we do not want to be first generation which, through increasing smoking levels and a spreading epidemic of obesity, buries the generation behind it. That is what we are looking at and smoking on its own, never mind obesity, will be a major cause of this.

Advertising and the storage of product are serious issues and the Bill includes provisions on these. There should be a minimum mandatory element, which is why this amendment proposes a period of "not less than 14 days". However, the offence of selling cigarettes to minors is so serious that there can be no compromise, which is why the amendment proposes a period of "not less than 14 days, except for offences relating to the sale of tobacco products to minors whereby removal from the register will be for a mandatory period of not less than 3 months".

I heard the Minister of State, Deputy Áine Brady, and the former Minister of State, Deputy Mary Wallace, speak about the difficulties for employers with regard to an employee who makes a mistake. Employers must be responsible for their employees. There must be a real fear of transgressing the law and a sanction against transgression. Otherwise we will have a situation where the attitude will be "Don't worry about it Mary - or Tommy - lash away and if they say anything about it I'll say you didn't know any better." That is not good enough. That is like saying to a lorry driver "Go on and drive for 14 hours and keep up the speed at 80 mph. We will make a fortune and I'll give you a cut at the other end; and if anyone says anything, say you didn't know." That is not on. The people will not appreciate that attitude.

If retailers think about the likelihood of their children receiving cigarettes in another shop, when they would not sell to them, they will feel strongly about the issue. As mentioned earlier, the 60% of retailers who abide by the law will not see it as fair if the sanctions against those who breach the law are laughable, which is what they may very well be. We have seen such situations time and again, for example, when people who commit heinous crimes such as murder are released after four years. This does not sit well with Fine Gael's position on mandatory sentencing in the case of murder. I do not want to overcook the egg or be dramatic, but what the Government is doing is setting children on a pathway to adulthood with an addiction that will shorten their lives considerably and lead to a very unpleasant demise.

It is not too much to ask the Minister to accept this amendment. I do not think it is a draconian or unreasonable proposal, nor do those who prioritise children's health. I urge the Minister of State to consider accepting this amendment and I would be delighted if we did not need to put it to a vote. While I have put forward two amendments under other sections, this section is the key section of the Bill and the part about which we are most seriously concerned. It is the part that makes real safeguards for children.

I have great admiration for the Minister of State, but she should not dilute this proposal or say black is white. She cannot say the section does not represent a weakening of the position when all those concerned want stronger sanctions. I am not talking about politicians but about apolitical organisations who prioritise the health of the people and who give of their time voluntarily, organisations such as the Irish Cancer Society, which has given €1 million towards the cancer strategy programme for bowel screening, the Irish Heart Foundation which trains people in CPR and tries to educate people about healthy lifestyles and ASH, a group that wants to protect people from the ill effects of smoking. Their only agenda is the health and protection of children and I believe that is also the agenda of the Minister of State.

The Minister of State must not let herself be hoodwinked by outside influences with a different agenda, namely, to sell cigarettes. That is their bottom line and that is all they are interested in. They do not want to think about their actions but want to shut out of their minds the consequences of their actions and the impact they will have on children. It is hugely worrying that in 2002 some 27% of people smoked but the 2007 figures show an increase of 2% to 29%. This has come about despite all our advertisements and all the education offered. We are not winning. We need every bit of help and support we can get for the fight. This section of the Bill is key to that. I plead with the Minister of State not to allow any discretion, confusion or uncertainty reign in this area. Our society will not tolerate that. I plead with her to accept the amendment.

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