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

I thank all Senators for their kind comments and, more importantly, for their support. I will make some comments on some of the issues raised. Senator Crown mentioned all the visits taking place over the St Patrick's Day period. It is a great opportunity for this country to advertise itself in a way that no other country has the opportunity to do. For my part, I will be going to Abu Dhabi and India. While in Abu Dhabi I will be addressing the World Health Organization plenary session on this issue. I consider this to be a great honour for me and for the country.

Senator Kelly raised concerns around cigars. All products sold here will be subject to plain packaging, including cigars, wherever they come from. I do not mean to be in any way confrontational, but I believe it behoves all of us to always put lives before jobs, in particular, the lives of our children in the future and those of future generations.

Since the economic crash, there has been much public discussion on how our political system let us down as well as suggestions about how it could be changed and strengthened. While there are weaknesses in our system, there are also great strengths. Many parliaments have tried to introduce plain packaging legislation only to see the tobacco industry swing into gear. Parliaments have ended up delaying or abandoning their plans. This has not happened in the Oireachtas, either in this House or in the Dáil. Not one word of this Bill has been changed on foot of pressure from the tobacco industry. The Bill has not been delayed by one day on foot of pressure from the industry either. The Oireachtas has proven to be impenetrable to tobacco industry influence and we should be proud of that. Today, we will become only the second parliament in the world, and the first in Europe, to pass legislation introducing standardised packaging. It is a credit to the Dáil and the Seanad, Government and Opposition parties and all the Members of this House.

No conversation about tobacco is complete without mentioning that every year 5,200 Irish people die prematurely from smoking. This year alone, more people in this country will die from smoking than died during 30 years of the Troubles in Northern Ireland. Some 21 years ago it seemed an aspirational dream that Northern Ireland could live in peace. However, with cross-party support and political priority, that was achieved. We have the same cross-party consensus on tackling smoking. This cross-party support has endured through successive governments. There was cross-party support for the ban on smoking in the workplace, the point-of-display ban and now there is cross-party support for the introduction of standardised packaging. If this public health epidemic is given the political priority it deserves, with cross-party support we can achieve our aim of a tobacco-free Ireland by 2025. Standardised packaging of tobacco is the next step towards achieving this aim.

I wish to express my appreciation to the officials in the Department of Health who have been working on this legislation for over two years. I hope they share in the sense of satisfaction at seeing this Bill pass through its final Stage in the Oireachtas. I thank the Attorney General for the commitment and energy that she and her staff have dedicated to the Bill. Without their legal expertise it would not have been possible to proceed with such a Bill. I thank the many non-governmental organisations, representatives of which are in the Gallery, including representatives from the Irish Cancer Society, the Irish Thoracic Society, the Asthma Society of Ireland and the Irish Heart Foundation as well as many others who have stood foursquare with us on this matter.

Many Members will know of Gerry Collins from the HSE's powerful anti-smoking advertisement. When diagnosed with terminal lung cancer, he bravely volunteered to spearhead a campaign to inform the public of the real consequences of smoking. Sadly, Gerry, a father of three, passed away from lung cancer one year ago yesterday at the age of only 57 years. I believe it is appropriate that I conclude the passage of this Bill through the Oireachtas by quoting Gerry's final line in that anti-smoking advertisement:

I’m going to die soon, from smoking. I’m not dying from anything other than cigarettes...

Don’t smoke. Don’t start, and for those who have, stop.

The message is simple: smoking kills. We owe it to our children to protect them from this and today we do so. I commend the Bill to the House.