Catherine Murphy (Kildare North, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I will finish up. The ban on smoking in the workplace was not about punishing smokers. I will return to what Deputy Finian McGrath said about this. It was about protecting workers from secondary smoke, which has been demonstrated to be significantly damaging. We all remember the fog in restaurants and pubs when one was in a horrible environment. This was obvious from the outward effects of it and one can clearly imagine the internal effects.

Ireland is a target because we are the most expensive country in terms of the way we implement price controls. We should continue to be an example in respect of that. I want to hear assurances from the Minister about a corresponding tax initiative to override this piece of legislation.

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