Billy Kelleher (Cork North Central, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

We will support the financial resolution as it is a public health measure. All sides of the House are in agreement that we need to continually pursue the aims and objectives of a tobacco-free society by 2025. This will be a huge challenge because we are dealing with an addictive substance, namely, nicotine and that leads to a broader debate on how we encourage people to give up and not to take up cigarette smoking in the first place. While the downward trend is very positive, there are concerns that, particularly among younger girls, there is a propensity to take up smoking and that is an area that needs to be addressed with broader policy initiatives. There will be broader support for sending out a strong message that we want to discourage as many people as possible from taking up cigarette smoking and to discourage those who are already smoking. That is easier said than done, however, and we need to assist people with supports, such as giving people on medical cards access nicotine substitute products. We need to do a lot more in this regard. All the measures to date, from graphic images on our cigarette packets to the broader efforts to make smoking unattractive, must be vigorously pursued over the next number of years. Whether we are on target or not, every person who gives up smoking or does not take it up is a bonus, so these policies are welcome.

We can broaden the debate out slightly to health policy in terms of alcohol, obesity and drug addiction, and there is a lot of work to be done in those areas. In this context, the revenue raising measures should be directed towards health policy initiatives. With an overall tax take of €8.87 on a pack of cigarettes, we need to ring fence at least some of that to promote healthy lifestyles and well being and to support those who want to give up but find it very difficult. We will support this resolution in order to send out a strong message from this House that this is a health policy initiative which has worked to date, along with the smoking ban and broader policy initiatives.

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