Martin Mansergh (Fianna Fail)

I welcome the Labour Party motion. It is useful to have a pre-legislative debate on matters such as this as the introduction of measures sometimes has undesirable effects. The extension of licensing hours has, for example, led to many public order problems. At the same time we must avoid showing too much puritanical zeal as there is a balance to be struck between the freedom to do things and freedom from harmful activities.

There has been much progress, which I welcome, in the 20 years since the first tobacco control legislation was introduced by Charles Haughey. The second Act was introduced by Barry Desmond in 1985 and other measures have been enacted since. I agree with Senator O'Meara that a crowded, smoky pub is a deterrent to many and it is not necessarily the case that the bar trade will suffer. Equally, the ideas brought forward by Senator Bohan and a Deputy from my constituency may be valid. If there is a means of providing segregated and confined areas for smokers, I will defend the right of people to bring that idea forward and have it considered and debated. It may be that it would not work, however. I have written to the Minister. Smoking is banned on buses and aircraft and there is a strong case to be made for banning it on trains. A train is a very confined space and if one sits in a smoking carriage due to the unavailability of a seat elsewhere, one will emerge reeking of smoke.

The Minister of State omitted that in the armoury of Government is the ability to introduce regular and large tax increases. As a member of the tax strategy group, I was fully behind this. The level of alcohol consumption is a danger to health and I fear to think what problems will emerge, particularly among the younger generation, in ten or 20 years. Health education would do much if it were pursued more actively. I gather that in America pubs employ bouncers who check identity cards. There is something to be said for introducing such a measure in some of the more busy pubs here.