James Reilly (Dublin North, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

Tá áthas orm bheith anseo inniu le haghaidh na díospóireachta ar an mBille seo. This amendment sets out the Long Title to the Bill. The Senators' Bill has been presented as an amendment to the Public Health (Tobacco) Act 2002 and, as the Senators' know, I have been very supportive of this. The Senators' Bill seeks to amend section 47 of that Act which prohibits the smoking of tobacco products in the workplace. I propose that the provisions to prohibit smoking in cars with children present should be set out in a stand-alone Bill for a number of reasons.

The privately-owned car does not represent a workplace and it is not appropriate that it be included in section 47. The enforcement officers of this provision will be members of An Garda Síochána and not HSE environmental officers, as currently set out in the Public Health (Tobacco) Acts. The penalties outlined for the offence in the Senators' Bill are set out as fixed charge notices and are quite distinct from the penalties already set out in the Public Health (Tobacco) Acts. Bearing these factors in mind, it is more appropriate for the Bill to be presented as stand-alone legislation as its operation does not rely on provisions from existing tobacco legislation and for those reasons, I commend this amendment to the House.