John Gilroy (Labour) | Oireachtas source

I too agree with the Minister and Senator Burke on the extent to which we want to go with the legislation. Personally, I would be in favour of banning sunbeds entirely but that is not the purpose of the legislation. Senator Crown is correct to draw attention to the increase in the incidence of melanoma and skin cancer.

Section 2, which gives the Minister power to provide regulations, section 10(4) concerning the promotion of health, and section 11 go as far as the amendments seek without banning adults from making decisions that harm their health. While we would not wish to see anyone making such an unfortunate decision, we live in a democracy – a non-nanny state – and it is not something for which we should legislate.

Senator Cullinane drew attention to the analogy with the smoking ban in the workplace and drink driving. The difference is that the practices identified by him cause harm to other people whereas the use of a sunbed causes harm only to the person using it. The analogy therefore is not correct. We would perhaps not accept the amendments in any event on the grounds of constitutionality. The Minister could clarify whether if a medical condition were identified on the Fitzpatrick scale, we could prevent services that are available to other people being available to certain people on the grounds that they suffer from a medical condition.

Could we, for instance, ban the sale of cigarettes to people with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease or cystic fibrosis? Could we ban the sale of sugar to persons suffering from type 2 diabetes? Should we go down that road? Should a pre-existing health condition be a determining factor in whether one is prevented from accessing a service or product which may be harmful to oneself? These are important questions to consider.

The proposals contained in the Bill are welcome and worthy of support. I take this opportunity to congratulate the Minister on the positive outcome yesterday of his long and hard fought battle at Cabinet to introduce standardised packaging of tobacco products.