James Bannon (Longford-Westmeath, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the Minister, Deputy Reilly, to the House. I take this opportunity to congratulate the initiative of Senators Crown, Van Turnhout and Daly on having put forward this Bill. I am also delighted that Senator Crown is here listening to this debate. As a former member of Seanad Éireann, the progression of this Bill is a clear testament to the significance and value the Seanad has to the legislative process post the referendum.

Since the introduction of the workplace smoking ban in March 2004, there has been much greater awareness around the dangers of smoking and second-hand smoke. Tobacco smoke is a mixture of gases and particles. It contains more than 7,000 chemical compounds. More than 250 of these chemicals are known to be harmful and at least 69 are known to cause cancer. Children are particularly at risk from the effects of second-hand smoke. Their bodies are still growing, they breathe at a faster rate than adults and they are also less able to avoid or reject it. Breathing second-hand smoke can cause young children serious illness and will increase the chances of them experiencing health problems in the future.

Many Deputies have already outlined the various illnesses that can be caused from second-hand smoke and the likes of lung disease, pneumonia and deafness in children are the most destructive. The greatest step smokers can take to improve their health is to stop smoking. Almost 1 million people in Ireland smoke on a regular basis. The Minister outlined that 5,200 people die from smoking each year. That is 5,200 families, friends and communities who are affected by smoking. I can only imagine the number of people affected by second-hand smoke.

It is known that one in every two smokers will die from a tobacco-related illnesses and it is also clear that anyone who smokes reduces his or her life expectancy by up to 15 years, even having stopped for some time. While health professionals try to address patients' smoking habits on a daily basis, the individual must take the final decision to quit. The more smokers who engage with health professionals, the more awareness about the dangers of second-hand smoke will add to their realising and understanding the dangers smoking poses to themselves and everyone around them. I am delighted when people returning from hospital say the first question the surgeon or specialist asked was whether they smoked. People have been told they owed their lives to the fact that they did not smoke. There is a lesson in this for everybody.

I welcome the legislation, which will play its part in improving the health and well-being of the Irish population. I have already outlined the threats children are under from the effects of second-hand smoke. The Bill will protect children and work towards reducing the possibility of children suffering from serious diseases as a result of being exposed to second-hand smoke. There is no safe level of exposure to second-hand smoke. Exposure to cigarette smoke is particularly dangerous in enclosed spaces, such as cars. Adults have a duty and a responsibility for the welfare of children and this must extend to not exposing them to the dangers of second-hand smoke.

The Bill includes the legal principle of holding a driver liable for smoking occurring in his or her car in the presence of a child, regardless of whether he or she is the smoker. It is very important that defences have been put in place in the Bill for the driver, for example, that the driver made all reasonable efforts to prevent the passenger from smoking. However, I have doubts, for example, if two adults and a child are in a car, the adult passenger in the car is smoking and, as a result, the car is pulled over by a member of the Garda Síochána. How can the driver prove that he or she made all reasonable efforts to prevent the passenger from smoking? I do not see how it can be proven and there is much ambiguity around the issue. It could be the driver's word against that of the passenger. I would like clarity on how the driver can prove he or she did everything possible to stop the passenger smoking.

While we talk about the dangers of second-hand smoke and work towards reducing it in legislation, we do nothing to lead by example here in the Houses of the Oireachtas. Visitors, staff and members are greeted each day by smokers standing outside the front doors of Leinster House and Leinster House 2000. It is foolish of us to sit here and legislate for the people of Ireland on second-hand smoke when we cannot even control it right here on our doorstep. The ashtrays should be removed from outside the doors of the Houses of the Oireachtas. If people want to smoke, they should get outside the gates of Leinster House to do so.

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