Jonathan O'Brien (Cork North Central, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Our alternative budget also proposed to increase the excise by 50 cent and, therefore, we are clear that we support this measure. We are aware of the impact smoking has on people's lives, not just on smokers but non-smokers also through passive smoking. More and more research is carried out every year on the impacts of passive smoking. It is a public health issue and it is in everyone's interest to reduce the number of people who smoke. This is one way of doing it but a varied approach is needed, including a well-funded health system, information programmes and encouraging people who smoke and have a smoking addiction to tackle that addiction.

While we support the increase in excise duty on cigarettes as one measure, and we will not vote against it, we will not support this particular measure tonight because a holistic approach is needed. As a stand-alone measure, this does not address those issues. If someone was able to say, for example, that the €61.8 million which we would get as a result of this was going directly into programmes to try to prevent people from smoking, one could stand over it. However, putting the €61.8 million into a budget which overall does nothing to help society is putting it into a black hole. We will not, therefore, support it nor vote against it.

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