Paul Gogarty (Dublin Mid West, Independent) | Oireachtas source

The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again. Yet, this is what we keep doing in relation to the scourge of nitrous oxide usage. The latter has led to serious injury and death in this country and is now a major source of litter in our communities. So far, it has been left to the Revenue Commissioners to deal with the issue. In that context, they seized 55,000 large canisters last year. The HSE focuses on giving advice to parents on a harm-reduction fact sheet. Otherwise, we rely on section 74 of the Child Care Act 1991, which relates to selling things to under-18s. That is not enough. This scourge is growing in our communities, so more is needed from a legislative and resourcing perspective. Will the Taoiseach commit to bring in meaningful measures to reduce the circulation of nitrous oxide for non-industrial purposes, further restricting its sale and seriously prosecuting those involved in the distribution of this harmful substance?

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