James Reilly (Dublin North, Fine Gael)

That is very regrettable. It is very well to speak of indictment, jail, fines and so on, but I do not accept for one moment the case put. Perhaps someone from the Judiciary will correct me, but my understanding is that if one is found guilty, one is found guilty. If there is a mandatory sentence it must be applied and that is what is at question. We are discussing a mandatory suspension from the retail register of 90 days if found guilty of selling tobacco or tobacco products to a minor, not a mandatory sentence for jail or a mandatory fine. This is at the heart of our request and of what this is all about.

This is a good Bill and it sends out all the right messages. The Government worked on it for a year and it was happy with it but now it has become unhappy because of the loud voices of individuals whose vested interest is to sell cigarettes. The Government has not been listening to the loud voices of the Irish Cancer Society or the Irish Heart Foundation or ASH but listening instead to those who sell cigarettes. There is no way a judge should decide guilt on the basis of the severity of what the person will experience. On this side of the House we do not believe that 90 days suspension from the retail register for the sale of tobacco is draconian or too severe. It will send the right message to people, that they have a responsibility to the next generation, a responsibility to play their part in ensuring that children, minors, are not exposed to cigarettes and that they will not sell, aid or abet the sale of cigarettes to children. That is what this is about and nothing else. We do not have an issue with the other aspects of the Bill and I ask the Minister of State to just consider this amendment. If I were a retailer I would be extremely careful to make sure that neither I nor my staff would sell tobacco or tobacco products to anyone under 18 years because I would know I would lose the right to sell those products for three months. This will not put such a retailer out of business; he or she will still sell newspapers, the pint of milk, the half pound of butter but he or she will not be allowed sell cigarettes. This is a very just, fair and, above all, a very focused amendment. We are not seeking to punish them in any other way other than if a person abuses his or her right to sell cigarettes, he or she will lose that right. This is one hell of an abuse if it is engaged in. It is, as we all know, setting a young person on the path to a lifelong addiction.

We have already alluded to cancer, cardiovascular disease and Deputy Varadkar has alluded to the significant area of chronic obstructive airways disease, or COPD. The disability caused by cigarettes is huge and the cost to our State is huge. This Bill sent out a strong message when it was first published and now that message is being diluted. I am not the one saying that; it is what the Irish Cancer Society, ASH and the Irish Heart Foundation are saying. I ask the Minister of State to please listen to those who have the good of children at heart and the good of their health at heart. I ask the Minister of State to accept this amendment. The mandatory 90 days for the sale of cigarettes to minors is my main consideration. I will not fall out with the Minister of State over a minimum or maximum level, incorrect signage or other issues. They are important considerations but this is the most important consideration, the key message. This is a message not just aimed at the retailers of Ireland but at the Irish people as to how the Minister for Health and Children considers and prioritises the safety of children and their health.

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