Feargal Quinn (Independent)

I did not have a chance to make a speech on Second Stage, but I will have to avoid making a Second Stage today. It has been very interesting to hear what others have said. I compliment the Minister of State, and although Senator Walsh said she has not gone far enough, she has taken the first step and to do so in such a short time is worthy of consideration. I am not in favour of a price increase because it encourages smuggling. We probably have the highest prices in Europe at the moment and smuggling is a huge problem. I am impressed at the steps the Minister of State is taking, and I believe it is possible to achieve far more in the future.

I was at a grocery meeting a couple of weeks ago on the Continent, and the man from Malta congratulated me. He said that in Malta they have followed Ireland in a different way, and removed plastic bags from check outs in supermarkets. He said they also followed us with anti-smoking legislation. We were the first country to do something about it, and the Maltese are very proud that they have also managed to reduce the level of smoking there.

It was interesting to hear about how we will convince people. Like Senator Walsh, my wife and I do not smoke, but we had smokers in other sides of the family, and deaths there as well. We are impressed that our five children do not smoke, mainly because the eldest child saw something on television at age 13, and became so bitterly anti-smoking that he influenced the rest of the family. This did not come from us as parents, but from a young man who was influenced by something he saw on television.

I was not here when Senator Crown spoke, but I believe his suggestion that smoking should be banned in cars if there are children present did not manage to make it to the list of amendments on time. I am not sure if anything can be done about that, but to make it an offence to smoke in a car when there are children present is something worthy of consideration. I am not sure how we will do it, but if there is some way of making sure that this happens, it is worthwhile.

Senator Crown came to two meetings we held in Leinster House 2000, and on one of those occasions, he said that sometimes he worries about his future as a cancer specialist, but that every time he sees Members smoking outside the barrier, he knows his future is secure. They will still need him in the future. It is a reminder to those who smoke and if we can manage to get that message across, the steps taken by the Minister of State will help. There is an onus on us as legislators to do all we can to protect ourselves from the danger of cancer that comes from smoking, especially lung cancer. I encourage the Minister of State, I wish her well and I believe the steps she has taken are in the right direction.