Patricia Ryan (Kildare South, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

They are indeed, and there are lots of important issues. That being said, I, too, wish Deputy Colm Burke the best in his new role. However, I would have preferred to go to a general election and maybe have somebody else in that seat.

Let us move swiftly on to the business that is at hand. Ireland has the proud distinction of being a global pioneer by banning smoking in all workplaces, bars and restaurants. Numerous other countries, 74 In total, including Greece, Spain and Hungary, to name but a few, followed our example with complete bans on smoking in enclosed public spaces, public transport and workplaces. Twenty years ago, when working in any pub or being on public transport or in other enclosed public spaces, it was commonplace to be rounded off by, to work in or to be surrounded by a grey fog of cigarette smoke. Whether you were a smoker or not, an evening out meant coming home smelling of stale smoke, and even hospitals had smoking rooms. My own mother ran a public house. She was a non-smoker but she died of cancer at the age of 55. Such exposure to passive or second-hand smoke had been proven to contribute to serious health conditions in non-smokers, such as coronary heart disease, stroke and lung cancers. For workers in these places, this exposure was multiplied manifold.

In the two decades since that momentous step, and it was a momentous step and we have to celebrate it, there are 800,000 fewer smokers in the State. There have been health benefits to those whose work environments have been made safer as a result. The benefits of the smoking ban are without question. We can now take for granted that we have clean air in our pubs, restaurants and workplaces. Our public transport is smoke free and our hospitals are designated smoke-free campuses.

However, many smokers still exist, and tobacco causes 4,500 deaths a year in Ireland. There is a rise in numbers vaping, which is causing huge damage to people in this country. This, in turn, has led to calls from people such as Chris Macey of the Irish Heart Foundation to raise the legal age of sale of tobacco and vaping products to 21. With smoking rates among teenagers increasing for the first time in a generation, Mr. Macey call this an "epidemic of e-cigarette use". Everywhere we go, we see youngsters with vapes: the colourful ones, the flavourful ones, etc. This is fuelling nicotine addiction among young people as a gateway to smoking. We still need investment in cancer treatment services. The Irish Cancer Society has warned that a lack of sufficient funding has expensive equipment lying idle. With patient survival prospects being put at risk, why waste money on expensive machines if there is not the staff or the capacity to use them?

Deputy Pearse Doherty spoke on Leaders' Questions today about what the Irish Cancer Society is telling us about these machines. It is not a swings-and-roundabouts game. We need the benefits of the smoking ban. They cannot be lost to the chronic underfunding of vital cancer treatment services.

The smoking industry has changed and developed in the past 20 years. The approach to smoking and vaping needs to move with the times. I feel the regulations on vaping must be made much stronger and I hope the Minister of State feels the same. We took a bold step in 2004 and need to keep taking bold steps to lead the way in respect of future measures for tobacco and vaping products. We must also fund our services to do so. I wish the Minister of State the best.

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