Marc MacSharry (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I am disappointed that the Minister cannot accept these amendments. While we will support this Bill, we will also press the amendments. I agree that in his capacity as a doctor, the Minister should not prescribe how people act - what they can or cannot do. All he can do is advise them. However, he is in this Chamber in his capacity as a Government Minister who is responsible for determining regulations and for legislating. There are many examples of areas in which the Oireachtas has legislated to provide regulations to protect people's health and discourage them from particular activities.
The Minister said in response to Senator Cullinane that the smoking ban was not a final solution to the cigarette problem because we did not ban the sale of cigarettes to various groups of people, such as those with cystic fibrosis. We did not ban tobacco from the country. If we knew many years ago what we know now about tobacco, we would not have let it into the country. If it was a new invention, we would not permit it. That is a fact. I am sure we could say the same thing about many other products. It is a fact that certain people should not use sunbeds. If the wording of this amendment is a problem, the Minister's officials in his Department should come up with a form of wording that will work better. The fact is that these people should not be using sunbeds.
The Oireachtas has a responsibility to provide guidelines and regulations to society, within which free will still exists. If I wanted to buy six Ventolin inhalers in a chemist shop tomorrow, I could not do so because it is against the law. If I consumed the contents of six inhalers, I would do damage to myself. I might want to use my free will to expose myself to six Ventolin inhalers, but it is prescribed in law that I may not do so. I am sure many other drugs and various things are regulated in such ways. It is right that one cannot get certain drugs without a prescription. We are seeking to provide for the same thing in this case. Certain people should be allowed to use sunbeds.

I agree that no doctor would want to certify anyone to use a sunbed any more than he or she would want to certify a person to abuse alcohol or, as the Minister has rightly said, to smoke cigarettes. Excellent work is being done today and we could finish it off with these suggestions. The Irish Cancer Society has no vested interest other than the protection of people and preventing them from having to go to Senator John Crown's practice or to the practices of other cancer specialists. The motives behind the legislation are noble, whereas the motive of the tanning bar proprietor - one cannot blame him or her - is cash. Anyone in such a business is not going to say to a prospective customer that his or her complexion is very pale, which would give rise to concerns about the impact of a sunbed on the person and that he or she should spend his or her money somewhere else. That will not happen. It will be a case of the customer coming in, telling them what they want, their turning it up high for 15 minutes, and telling the customer they should definitely go for it and that they will look great on their wedding day. There is no reason for us not to do that. We will press the amendments on that basis. We will support the Bill but we will press both amendments to a vote.