Seán Fleming (Laois, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the positive response and support from the Government and Sinn Féin for the Ethical Public Investment in Tobacco Bill 2017 on Second Stage and when it progresses to the pre-legislative scrutiny stage or Committee Stage, whichever is decided on by the appropriate authorities. We are all singing from the same hymn sheet on this issue. We all agree something needs to be done and it is a question of how we fine tune the Bill.

A tobacco company is defined as a company involved in the manufacture or production of tobacco, cigarettes and cigars. I should have made that clear in my opening comments. The Minister of State highlighted the fact there are far more tobacco companies worldwide than armaments companies. I was not aware of the figures he provided. More care needs to be taken to avoid the unintentional or accidental holding of shares in tobacco companies. I would welcome the engagement of Members of the House or the Office of the Parliamentary Counsel in resolving any issues in terms of imprecise drafting.

The Minister of State indicated that pension funds in the commercial or non-commercial semi-State sector might have pooled investments in the market indices. In section 5 of the Bill, I referred to the issue of investing in a financial index. I included a specific exemption for organisations investing in a financial index because, as the Minister of State pointed out, it would not be possible to take everything out and it might prevent investment in worthwhile financial indices on the basis that one might be exposed to investing in a tobacco company. That section dealt with derivatives based on a financial index. That probably needs to be broadened to include investments in a financial index. Whether it is referred to as a pooled investment fund or a financial index, that issue has to be dealt with. The Minister of State suggested a minimum threshold such as less than 0.1% which is a rate used by other investment funds worldwide. We will be guided by market practice. The Ireland Strategic Investment Fund operates in the international market to get the best return for the Irish taxpayer for future investment in pensions. We must not hamper its work in generating future required income for the Irish people. Much of what has been said deals with collective investment products which have exposure to tobacco companies. That seems to be the biggest issue to tease out. It should be possible to resolve it on Committee Stage and I look forward to that opportunity.

I welcome the fact the Minister of State referred to progressive tobacco control policies introduced in recent times. These include the cumulative increase in excise duty, the workplace smoking ban, the ban on point of sale display of tobacco advertising which has taken it out of the view of shoppers and the ban on smoking in cars. This legislation fits nicely with Government policy of making Ireland a tobacco-free country by 2025. While that deadline is still remote, we should be more ambitious. A tobacco-free country is interpreted internationally to mean less than 5% of the population. In Ireland, that would be 250,000 people, excluding children who are under age but who smoke. That is still too many smokers. I hope that, as we get closer to 2025, that 5% target would be reached and exceeded as quickly as possible. That may depend on who is in the House at that time.

We have a strong international reputation on this issue. People from other countries have visited Ireland to see how this would work and we need to continue to take the lead on it in this State.

I thank the Minister of State and the Government for agreeing not to oppose the Bill on Second Stage. It can now move on to Committee Stage in due course.

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