Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I am pleased to have an opportunity to speak on Second Stage of this important legislation. As can be seen, I am not a regular patron of sunbed salons. However, the danger of over-exposure to ultraviolet radiation either from the sun or from sunbeds has been brought to my attention. I refer to the important points made by earlier speakers. We need to identify the full extent of the danger and this process has been happening over the past years. Sadly, the Bill has been pending for a long time but the matter has come to the fore and we must attempt to deal with this health legislation as quickly as possible.

We must be responsive to concerns about health. Members of the public have concerns and they need to be reassured in particular with regard to carcinogens. It may be necessary to expand this legislation in the future or to include in it other similar threats to the health and well-being of our people. Smoking and excessive alcohol consumption have long been identified as being detrimental to public health and creating a significant burden on the Exchequer not only in this country, but across the globe. The extent to which that can be alleviated by legislation should be considered.

I believe the use from an early age of sunbeds or over-exposure to direct sunlight will have serious consequences for the children at the time but also further down the line as they grow older. It is at that stage in middle age that some of the excesses and over-exposure to such threats become more obvious but by then it is too late, unfortunately. In many cases, young children are unnecessarily exposed to ultraviolet rays either by the use of sunbeds or by over-exposure to direct sunlight in order to get a healthy look and to get a better tan and to stand out in a crowd. I am told sunbed use is not necessary as one can buy a bottle of paint in a chemist's shop to do the same job. Purists will say that this is a fake tan and people in this country are very suspicious of anything fake. However, it is far better to err on the side of safety and take a chance on being ridiculed for using a fake tan. Some cosmetics are also deemed to have been carcinogenic and there have been changes in that area. I would like to know the extent to which carcinogenic substances have been eliminated from our lives, from cosmetics, exposure to sunbeds or from other products.

On a related issue, irradiation of food products is commonly accepted. Food products will not last on a shelf for three weeks without some treatment and this is irradiation. This treatment has been deemed to be safe and sufficient and I presume it is safe. However, to what extent is that tested regularly? Testing is applied to products used by the farming sector on the basis that they may have a negative ecological impact or have carcinogenic concerns.

Many years ago I promoted the establishment of the national cancer register and I have tabled many parliamentary questions to the relevant Ministers in an effort to identify the causes, the incidence and the most prevalent cancers. We still have not succeeded in identifying the many various contributory causes in every region in order to decide that certain behaviours or practices may be to blame. We need to identify the extent to which cancer-causing practices, substances or devices are in use in society. This, in turn, will have a significant impact on the level of expenditure required by the health services.

This legislation is timely although it may be too narrow in its scope in that it only deals with the use of sunbeds. The time has come to examine the menu of substances that are alleged to be carcinogenic in order to determine whether they are carcinogenic. We should be knowledgeable in order to debate such subject matter. We should dispense with myth and clarify the issues.

Deputy Bannon referred to people with fairer skin. My skin was not always the same colour as it is now. A large number of people are very sensitive to ultraviolet rays which can be very damaging to their lifelong health. Many substances, cosmetic procedures and applications can be detrimental to health. The cost to the Exchequer of dealing with the effects of these products can be measured.

Any discussion of radiation should include electronic pulse radiation and electromagnetic radiation. We should become more conversant with the full extent to which these issues affect our daily lives. For example, experts contribute readily to any argument. We need to examine the issues and the arguments for and against in an effort to determine the precise effect such issues may have on the health of the people both here and globally.

We need to be forewarned. We live in a world that readily accuses institutions, governments and communities of failure to warn people in advance. It is one thing to fail to warn people when the information is available; failure to warn people in advance when the information is not available, but in some cases should be available, is another issue.

That is something which perhaps should be considered in the context of this legislation.

We need to educate our children through the education system. It is of critical importance that children get the message about the negatives of having a nice colour if it is achieved through exposure to ultraviolet rays, whether through prolonged exposure to direct sunlight or a sunbed. We must remember that people with different skin colours react to such treatment. Some can withstand it while others cannot and have a very serious reaction. We need to know more about the long-term effects, whether permanent or temporary, of exposure for people with various skin pigmentations. We need to be informed on a regular basis of the wider implications and to point out if there are alternatives. The Leas-Cheann Comhairle will know I would not resort to fake tan but if it has the same result and if it is harmless, why not use it in preference to something which can be very harmful and have a prolonged effect on the life and well-being of the child or even the adult?

The Bill is important and the Minister should look at extending this kind of legislation to a wider number of services and products which may have a detrimental effect on the lives of our children and on adults and at whether it would be possible to draw up a list of areas at which we should look more carefully to try to prevent the problems that might occur in years to come rather than attempting to deal with them when they become a reality.

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