Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Ar dtús ba mhaith liom athbhliain faoi mhaise a ghabháil don Chathaoirleach agus do gach Teachta anseo.

This Bill gives us the opportunity to focus once again on the enormous damage caused to the health of people and the huge cost to society of tobacco smoking. It also provides us with an opportunity to address the ongoing campaign to reduce and, one hopes, eventually to eliminate this practice. I support this, absolutely, and wish to see the creation of a smoking-free society. While there will probably always be a remnant of smoking among a small minority, for maximum effect the aim has to be a smoke-free society in Ireland. Much progress has been made - this must be acknowledged. Measures undertaken by successive Governments and the campaigning work of the Irish Cancer Society, the Irish Heart Foundation, ASH Ireland and others have greatly reduced the numbers who smoke and unquestionably have hugely improved public health. A combination of public education and pricing measures has ensured this reduction in the numbers who smoke. Pricing measures are crucial; that is one of the two areas covered by the provisions of the Bill which I will address.

It is still a startling statistic that around a quarter of the adult population of this country smoke. The numbers of young people starting smoking and becoming addicted at an early age must be addressed on a continuing basis. It is estimated that smoking causes well over 5,000 deaths each year, mainly as a result of conditions such as lung cancer, heart disease, stroke and emphysema. Nearly a third of cancer deaths and 90% of lung cancers in Ireland are attributed to smoking. The cost to society in human terms and in financial terms is enormous. One estimate is that the cost to the State in health service provision in a single year is €1 billion, with approximately a third of that spent on hospital admissions. It is estimated that if smoking continues to expand as it is doing at present it will be the single biggest cause of death worldwide before the middle of this century. Smoking is expanding across the globe because the tobacco industry's great area of expansion is in developing countries that have not yet put in place the preventive measures that have been provided for in developed countries such as our own.

The tobacco industry is an industry of death and it is exploiting as never before the most disadvantaged people on our planet. Yet there are still people, including in this country, who lobby on its behalf, happy to benefit from the enormous profits reaped by these multinational drug pushers. It has been said, rightly, that if the tobacco drug had been developed in our own time it would never have been authorised for sale and would have been banned outright, a point made already in the Chamber. That is not an argument for a ban on smoking, as prohibition would be unworkable and would merely drive it underground, thus benefiting organised crime. However, the point underlines the lethal nature of this drug.

In terms of legislation the ban on smoking in enclosed work-places has been a considerable success. As well as improving the health of workers and those visiting premises, the knock-on effect of making smoking less socially acceptable has been profound. It is now common for people who smoke, especially those with children, to do so only outside their homes.

The Bill has two main purposes. First, it provides the Minister with additional powers to combat the promotion of tobacco products. Second, it amends existing legislation to comply with the European Court of Justice ruling that the setting of minimum prices for tobacco in this State is in breach of EU law. Sinn Féin fully supports the first element of the Bill and welcomes further measures to ensure the sale and advertising of cigarettes and other tobacco products are restricted. The second element of the Bill is highly problematic for us. It is an example of how democracy has been eroded by the European Union. An EU directive which provides that manufacturers and importers must be free to set their own prices for their products takes precedence over Irish law.

The European Court, in a judgment against the State and other jurisdictions - I think France and Austria, but I am not certain - ruled that the directive covered the minimum pricing of tobacco products and, therefore, struck down the relevant provisions of the Tobacco Products (Control of Advertising, Sponsorship and Sales Promotion) Act 1978 and the Public Health (Tobacco) Act 2002. There are two major objections. First, the Dáil's right and ability to set minimum prices is nullified by a EU directive. Second, the application of the directive in this case is nonsensical. The directive is supposed to relate to facilitating competition, but in this case it is clearly being used to actually restrict measures to protect public health. One cannot get away from the fact that this is the real position. I accept that the directive does not restrict our ability to set rates of tax on tobacco products, but there are many in the Dáil who would happily see us go down the road of tax harmonisation. I refer to those who, time after time, have demonstrated their support for a federal European Union.

With the other main element of the Bill, we have no difficulty. It is a logical extension of existing legislation and allows the Minister to control and regulate the promotion of tobacco products through "special offers", whereby they are offered free or at reduced prices, together with other products. This follows on from the legislation put in place in July 2009 to prohibit all point-of-sale advertising in retail outlets and require the storage of tobacco products out of sight of the customer. Both measures are welcome and, in general, being adhered to.

As a result of the fact that the Bill provides for further restriction in tobacco promotion, we will not oppose it. However, recognising the situation in which the Minister finds himself as a result of the decision of the European Court of Justice, we must, at least at this point, record our strong objection to what I view as an unacceptable application of a EU directive which runs absolutely contrary to the public interest, in this instance, the health of the population. That must be said loudly and clearly.

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