Marcella Corcoran Kennedy (Offaly, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank Senators for their contributions on Committee Stage of the Health (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2016. The provisions of this Bill will allay the fears of recipients of ex gratiaawards which have been approved by the Government. It would be most unfair if people who received an ex gratiaaward were then to be disadvantaged regarding their financial assessment for support under the nursing homes support scheme as a result of receiving an award. I hope this Bill will give peace of mind to the individuals concerned and their families.

This Bill contains some very important measures regarding tobacco control and I am delighted to see Senator Reilly here as he is a champion of this issue. Once this Bill is enacted arrangements will be made to introduce standardised packaging of tobacco. It is my intention to allow adequate preparation time before the commencement of the new packaging measures. As we know, 23% of Irish people are daily or occasional smokers. Some 8% of our ten to 17 year olds smoke. While the reduction in these figures over the past number of years is significant and welcome, we are a long way from reaching our 5% prevalence rate set out in our Tobacco Free Ireland policy.

Almost 6,000 Irish people are killed annually by smoking. The human cost of smoking in Ireland today is overwhelming. Less important but still significant is the economic cost of smoking in Ireland. The annual health care bill amounts to €506 million, lost productivity costs €1 billion and the cost of litter associated with smoking is €69 million. These costs are very significant, and show us how reducing smoking can improve not only the health and well-being of the Irish people, but can also reduce the cost to the taxpayer in dealing with the impacts of smoking in the long term.

We can be proud of what we have achieved over the last couple of decades regarding tobacco control, but work must continue on reducing the numbers who smoke, and in particular the number of young people starting to smoke. Standardised packaging is just one of a number of recommendations set out in Tobacco Free Ireland. I am committed to ensuring that we continue to implement this policy to ensure that our children and our children's children get to experience a tobacco free Ireland. I ask all Senators to continue their support, not only for the standardised packaging measure being discussed here today but for all future public health measures to be implemented by my colleague, Deputy Harris, and me.

The provision in the Bill to amend the Health (Pricing and Supply of Medical Goods) Act 2013 is also intended to benefit the health of the population. It provides that when considered appropriate in the interests of patient safety or public health, over-the-counter medicines can continue to be reimbursed to medical card holders after May 2018. This means that products such as nicotine replacement products and emergency contraception can continue to be provided under the medical card scheme. The proposed amendment to the Irish Medicines Board Act 1995 will allow the payment of fees to members of the Health Products Regulatory Authority in line with the arrangements of other boards, in order to continue to attract the highest calibre of expertise to apply for board membership at no additional cost to the taxpayer.

I thank everyone who contributed to the debate. I want to thank Senators Swanick and Ó Clochartaigh for the genuine intentions of their amendments, and I regret that due to Standing Orders it was impossible to accept them. I think everyone will agree that getting this Bill enacted as quickly as possible is a primary aim. The Bill aims to make important changes to the four Acts in the interests of equity, and in some cases patient safety, and of course the tobacco legislation is to help protect public health. Again, I thank all of the Senators for their contributions.