Results 18,721-18,740 of 21,128 for speaker:James Reilly

Committee on Health and Children: Select Sub-Committee on Health: Public Health (Standardised Packaging of Tobacco) Bill 2014: Committee Stage (17 Feb 2015)

James Reilly: I will respond in the spirit of the support and co-operation we have had, but in the interests of accuracy, my information is that Australia gave the companies a full year to wash out the product. I fully accept that the Deputy's enthusiasm for this issue is honourable. I share it but, unfortunately, this advice comes from our Attorney General. It is not borne out of fear but rather the...

Committee on Health and Children: Select Sub-Committee on Health: Public Health (Standardised Packaging of Tobacco) Bill 2014: Committee Stage (17 Feb 2015)

James Reilly: The Deputy's amendment specifies the minimum and maximum size of a cigarette pack. The Bill as drafted does not set minimum and maximum sizes but the new EU tobacco products directive sets out the minimum width and height of the graphic or combined health warnings placed on packs. Cigarette packs cannot therefore be any smaller than these minimum requirements. In effect, this indirectly...

Committee on Health and Children: Select Sub-Committee on Health: Public Health (Standardised Packaging of Tobacco) Bill 2014: Committee Stage (17 Feb 2015)

James Reilly: At the lower end.

Committee on Health and Children: Select Sub-Committee on Health: Public Health (Standardised Packaging of Tobacco) Bill 2014: Committee Stage (17 Feb 2015)

James Reilly: This amendment seeks to prohibit a brand and variant name from appearing on a cigarette stick and instead place an alpha-numeric code. The Bill allows for a brand and variant name to appear on the cigarette stick itself in order to distinguish one brand of cigarette from another. The Bill provides for the colour of the stick and limits the tobacco industry to white paper with a white or...

Committee on Health and Children: Select Sub-Committee on Health: Public Health (Standardised Packaging of Tobacco) Bill 2014: Committee Stage (17 Feb 2015)

James Reilly: It is.

Committee on Health and Children: Select Sub-Committee on Health: Public Health (Standardised Packaging of Tobacco) Bill 2014: Committee Stage (17 Feb 2015)

James Reilly: Everything is possible, but whether it is wise is another day’s work. Cigars and pipe tobacco are tobacco and they do cause harm such as cancer, cardiovascular disease, impotence and a host of other problems. Notwithstanding that those particular forms of smoking are not currently popular, one must consider what might happen if the other forms of tobacco become very unpopular. Where...

Committee on Health and Children: Select Sub-Committee on Health: Public Health (Standardised Packaging of Tobacco) Bill 2014: Committee Stage (17 Feb 2015)

James Reilly: The EU directive on tobacco control also applies to safety issues around e-cigarettes. In relation to nicotine vaping and the Chairman's anxiety to use this Bill to address it, I would caution against anything that would delay or alter this Bill because it will delay it and we would have to go back to-----

Committee on Health and Children: Select Sub-Committee on Health: Public Health (Standardised Packaging of Tobacco) Bill 2014: Committee Stage (17 Feb 2015)

James Reilly: It is seen as cool and safe. I am loth to get into this because it is not part of the Bill. Having said that, I am very concerned about e-cigarettes and their availability to people under 18 years. I am very concerned that they would be used to sell a lifestyle and to normalise the habit of smoking, which is something we are trying to de-normalise to protect our children. We made a...

Committee on Health and Children: Select Sub-Committee on Health: Public Health (Standardised Packaging of Tobacco) Bill 2014: Committee Stage (17 Feb 2015)

James Reilly: Absolutely. The elements include colour, minimum size, etc., and they will pertain to pipe tobacco in the same way as they pertain to rolling tobacco.

Committee on Health and Children: Select Sub-Committee on Health: Public Health (Standardised Packaging of Tobacco) Bill 2014: Committee Stage (17 Feb 2015)

James Reilly: Exactly, and that is how the tobacco industry feels as well. It uses this element to argue that a product has low tar or carbon monoxide content to make it look like a product is safer somehow. Of course, it is not, as it is every bit as much of a killer as a product with higher levels.

Committee on Health and Children: Select Sub-Committee on Health: Public Health (Standardised Packaging of Tobacco) Bill 2014: Committee Stage (17 Feb 2015)

James Reilly: That is a very salient question and the answer is "Yes". There will be environmental health officers enforcing this in the same way they enforce the smoking ban in public spaces.

Committee on Health and Children: Select Sub-Committee on Health: Public Health (Standardised Packaging of Tobacco) Bill 2014: Committee Stage (17 Feb 2015)

James Reilly: I thank everybody who participated today and particularly members from the Opposition for their support for this Bill. It is very clear that this Parliament understands the importance of this measure. It will not be intimidated by external forces, regardless of where they come from. The health of our people is a primary concern to this Legislature, not just the Government but the...

Committee on Health and Children: Select Sub-Committee on Health: Public Health (Standardised Packaging of Tobacco) Bill 2014: Committee Stage (17 Feb 2015)

James Reilly: As I said to the media earlier, tomorrow is Ash Wednesday and many people take the opportunity to consider trying to quit smoking again. Let me reiterate that it is a case of try, try and try again. The day a person gives up smoking is the day he or she will make the most important impact on his or her longevity and well-being. To address the concerns of the retailers, there is a certain...

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Aftercare Services (18 Feb 2015)

James Reilly: Aftercare is a term used to describe the planning and support put in place to meet the needs of a young person who is leaving statutory care at 18 years of age, to assist him/her in making the transition to independent living. It is essential that all young people leaving care are provided with the type of transitional support that their individual situation requires. The Child Care...

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Departmental Communications (18 Feb 2015)

James Reilly: It is the policy of my Department to ensure that the Department's publications are presented at a level of plain English commensurate with the specified audience which may include: - Elected officials, Government Departments, policy makers, researchers and academics; - Professionals working with and for children, for example, teachers, social workers, youth workers, child-care workers; -...

Seanad: Adoption (Identity and Information) Bill 2014: Committee and Remaining Stages (18 Feb 2015)

James Reilly: While I do not oppose the amendment, I reiterate that I foresee constitutional difficulties with the Private Members' Bill. This Bill differs from the Bill being prepared by my Department. It does not differentiate between prospective and retrospective adoptions. In this respect it does not address the complex constitutional issues that arise in respect of the provision of identifying...

Seanad: Adoption (Identity and Information) Bill 2014: Committee and Remaining Stages (18 Feb 2015)

James Reilly: I thank Senators for their contributions. I reiterate that we want to do everything we can to ensure that the process, which is currently very onerous, is very much simplified. I also reassure Senator Power in particular that the Bill we are preparing is not only about prospective adoptions but also about current adoptions and the people who are in the situation the Senator so eloquently...

Seanad: Adoption (Identity and Information) Bill 2014: Committee and Remaining Stages (18 Feb 2015)

James Reilly: In regard to medical records, they are the property of the individual and not open in terms of their being taken forcefully, as Senator Power said, but if they are volunteered, that is what is intended.

Seanad: Adoption (Identity and Information) Bill 2014: Committee and Remaining Stages (18 Feb 2015)

James Reilly: Go raibh maith agaibh go leir. I would particularly like to thank Senators Power, van Turnhout and Healy Eames for the time and effort they have put into developing the Private Members' Bill, and Dr. Fergus Ryan, the legal expert who provided assistance in the process. While I do not oppose the Bill I must reiterate that I still foresee some constitutional difficulties with it, but it must...

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Child and Family Agency Services (19 Feb 2015)

James Reilly: The Empowerment Plus service is contracted by Tusla, the Child and Family Agency in Galway only. Services provided by this organisation were previously offered to ten families. I am advised by Tusla, that there were emerging concerns about the level and quality of the services being provided. An audit was undertaken by the Agency and the findings were that the service was not fit for...