Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour) | Oireachtas source

We have had this debate on cigarettes on many occasions in the House. I have been at odds on many occasions with Deputy Finian McGrath but I favour measures to cut down smoking to the maximum level possible as a society. Anybody who visits hospices and sees the suffering, the pain and the difficulties people go through would certainly see that smoking causes extraordinarily difficult health problems for people, ranging from treatable issues like emphysema to more serious issues such as lung cancer. I agree with those Deputies who said we should make every effort to bring this to an end. I also agree with Deputies who suggested we should be much tougher in our efforts to bring an end to cigarette smuggling. Quite a lot of work is being done in that area, including a number of cross-Border and international initiatives to use big data and intelligence operations to make the campaign against smuggling more effective.

Deputies Smith and Ó Caoláin proposed that the spend on deterrent measures be commensurate with the amount raised but such is the cost of smoking in the health service that we would need to raise a great deal more than we are raising with this measure. It indicates a great determination of many Members of the House to encourage as many people as possible to abstain from smoking throughout their lives. Many people enjoy cigarettes and probably control their consumption but the overall impact on public health is pretty devastating. The biggest risk is when young teenage children get involved in smoking and, by the time they are 21, it is extraordinarily difficult for them to give it up. Some succeed but a lot do not.

Deputy Boyd Barrett mentioned lone parents and I mentioned lone parents in the budget. I do not know if the Deputy has had the chance to study it yet but a lone parent with two children will get a Christmas bonus of €185.70, while a lone parent with two children will get an extra €120 per year in child benefit and a lone parent with two children will get a fuel allowance of €2.50 per week.

I am therefore very happy to say that in this budget lone parents-----

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