Catherine Byrne (Dublin South Central, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank all the Senators who have spoken on this issue, Senators Reilly, Buttimer, Wilson, Ó Domhnaill, Coughlan, Dolan and McFadden. This issue affects all our lives whether personally or in our families or extended families. The Bill aims to protect our children. We can have no greater gift than our children and we should keep that in perspective when we speak about this.

Senator Reilly spoke about a small dedicated team from the Department of Health. It is behind me now and I commend its work. Since taking over this role I have learned much about what the Department does in general but particularly in respect of tobacco. The team has done a great deal of work at different stages on this legislation.

Senator Buttimer spoke about having the courage of one's convictions. If we have that we cannot go wrong with this Bill.

In answer to Senator Ó Domhnaill, we have reached a daily prevalence of 18% of the tobacco-free Ireland target and aim for 5% in 2025. A total of 8% of children smoke, compared with 22% in 2002. The message is getting through.

People told their personal stories. Senator Dolan spoke about his mother. I recall my mam and dad smoking. It was a time when smoking was normal in the home. As children we accepted it because we did not know any better. Now we do know better. If we had one thing to tell our children and grandchildren it would the statistics for the number of people who die every year from smoking tobacco. Senator Dolan called it a demon, and it is a demon. It is very hard for someone addicted to a substance to give it up. They are human beings and have for one reason or another taken up this addiction and we need to help rather than condemn them. That is a lesson I have learned particularly from the brief on the national drugs strategy.

I pass a maternity hospital every day on my way into work and I am still astonished at the number of women who are quite pregnant, standing outside, with a drip, smoking. Do they really understand the harm they are doing themselves and their unborn children? I know a great deal of work is being done in maternity hospitals across the country to put women in the right frame of mind around drinking and smoking when they are pregnant.

Second-hand smoking kills. We all know that and there are statistics to support that. I have never smoked but I used to sing with a band in pubs. There was so much smoke that we could not see the people in the audience. I wonder after inhaling all that smoke where I will be in a few months' time.

It is difficult to speak about this in connection with people who have a mental illness because sometimes they use smoking as a crutch. That is very sad but we do not have a ban on smoking in psychiatric hospitals and need to consider sectors of society where we can tolerate it for a certain reason.

This seed was planted a long time before I entered this office. I feel like someone in a relay race taking the baton, as I did with the national drugs strategy and the supervised injecting facilities. I am part of a team whose goal was to achieve what we have achieved in respect of tobacco and alcohol.I was very privileged to be part of that team.

I know Senator Reilly. I sat at many board meetings with him in the Eastern Regional Health Authority, ERHA. I think he was the first person I sat beside the night of my first meeting in Dr. Steevens' Hospital and I was like a little green cucumber, as it were, sitting there wondering why I was there, but while I was there I learned so much from Senator Reilly and still do. I thank him for the years of service he has given to the health and well-being of not just our children but all our citizens.

I thank the Senators for tabling this motion and giving me an opportunity to discuss this matter. They all know of the devastation that tobacco addiction has caused to people. More than 6,000 lives have been taken from us each year because of tobacco addiction. That is 6,000 preventable deaths every year. Unfortunately, the burden of disease, disability and premature death falls on the most disadvantaged in society. Aside from the tragic human and social cost of smoking, it is estimated to cost society €10.7 billion annually in healthcare, productivity and other costs.

It is because of this social and economic burden that the Government is committed to implementing the Tobacco Free Ireland policy. The policy sets a target for Ireland to be tobacco free by 2025. Tobacco Free Ireland addresses a range of tobacco control issues and interventions. It contains more than 60 recommendations, and I am pleased to say that we have successfully implemented a number of these. For example, last year I was delighted to sign the regulation which introduced the standardised or plain packaging in Ireland. I am happy to say that the standardised packages have started to appear on the market shelves in Ireland. I was in Bulgaria at the weekend at the World Health Organization speaking about our tobacco legislation and our alcohol legislation which we hope to bring through. I was astonished when I had an hour to walk around because I have not seen a packet of cigarettes in a shop window for a very long time, which is a good thing. I was very taken aback by being able to see them so openly displayed.

Legislation to ban smoking in cars where children are present is in operation. The Healthy Ireland national survey now collates annual data on smoking prevalence. The HSE operates a very effective smoking cessation campaign called QUIT and the excise duty on tobacco has increased significantly over the years in line with Tobacco Free Ireland. It was €3.65 for a packet of 20 smokes when I was away and here it is something like €12, so it shows we are going in the right way. These and past developments have placed Ireland at the forefront of tobacco control legislation in Europe. We are ranked second among 34 European countries in tobacco control initiatives. Ireland’s role as a world leader in tobacco control was recognised when the Department of Health was awarded the World Health Organization’s prestigious world no tobacco day award in 2017 for its achievements in the field of tobacco control. I am sure these developments were key to Ireland winning the bid to host the 18th world conference on tobacco and health which will be held in Dublin in 2021. This is the premier conference on tobacco related issues and attracts an international audience of approximately 2,500 delegates. The conference has not been held in a European city since 2003.

To maintain and enhance lreland's tobacco control work, a high-Ievel action plan for the Tobacco Free Ireland policy was developed. The action plan outlines the responsibilities, actions and timelines for implementation of the policy. Annual reports on the implementation of the action plan have been published for 2014, 2015 and 2016. The 2017 annual report is being drafted by the Department of Health. Both the Minister for Health, Deputy Harris, and I, along with the Department of Health are committed to implementing a number of key recommendations in the plan in the short to medium term. I will set out for the Senators some of the current and future priority legislative elements in which we are involved.

One of our priorities relates to our EU obligations. The Department is continuing the transposition and implementation of the EU tobacco products directive and the secondary legislation arising from it. The adoption of the directive provided harmonious laws across Europe on tobacco products and electronic cigarettes to facilitate the smooth functioning of the international market while assuring a high level of public health protection. Articles 15 and 16 of the directive establish an EU-wide tracking, tracing and security feature scheme for all unit packaging of tobacco products. The aim of this scheme is to fight the illicit trade in tobacco products. Illicit trade undermines the free circulation of compliant products and the overall protection provided by tobacco control legislation. The European Commission recently adopted the relevant secondary legislation and these secondary Acts are being transposed into Irish law in the Department.

The first protocol of the World Health Organization’s Framework Convention on Tobacco Control has been signed by Ireland. It deals with the illicit trade of tobacco. Arrangements are being put in place to ratify the protocol. The implementation of the EU tracking and tracing legislation is a key step to ensure that Ireland will be in a position to ratify the protocol. As a strong supporter of the World Health Organization convention, it is important that Ireland proceeds with the ratification of this protocol.

Government approval has been given for the introduction of a licensing system and other measures relating to the sale of tobacco products and non-medical nicotine delivery systems, including e-cigarettes. The work involves developing the policy for a licensing scheme for tobacco products and non-medical nicotine delivery schemes to inform the general scheme of the Bill. The proposed legislation is based on the recommendations from the Tobacco Free Ireland report. As well as licensing those who sell tobacco and e-cigarettes, it will include provisions to ban the sale of e-cigarettes to those under the age of 18.

The Senators’ proposal is to extend the legislative base for the smoking ban to outdoor areas where food is consumed. I am assuming that the Senators’ recommendations relate to commercial public places only. The current legislative framework on tobacco control is the Public Health (Tobacco) Acts 2002 to 2015. Section 47 of the Acts prohibits smoking in most enclosed work places. This includes office blocks, public houses or bars, restaurants and company vehicles such as cars and vans. There are some exemptions from the general prohibition for certain places or premises, including prisons, nursing homes, non-acute long-stay facilities and psychiatric hospitals. The overall purpose of the ban is to limit the harm of second-hand smoke. I recognise and support the principles behind the motion. I acknowledge the Senators’ proposal to seek to protect people further from the harm of second-hand smoke and to denormalise further the smoking of tobacco in society.

It is clear from what I have outlined today that the Government is committed to implementing Tobacco Free Ireland. It has and is being done in a planned and systematic way based on priorities. These priorities are also influenced by EU and World Health Organization obligations. Tobacco Free Ireland contains recommendations which set out an obligation to monitor the effectiveness of current smoke free legislation, including the review of existing exemptions and the monitoring of compliance with these provisions. I am of the view that the Senators’ proposal could be considered and examined in that context. This examination can take place after the legislative programme set out above is completed and Ireland has both complied with the international obligations and introduced a comprehensive licensing system for the sale of tobacco products. I accept the motion and I assure the Senators that the measures will be addressed on completion of the current tobacco control legislative programme.

I reiterate that we can be proud of what we have achieved here in Ireland. The effect of our laws is such that we have a generation of young people growing up without knowing what it is like to smoke in a pub and restaurant. They have grown up without seeing tobacco packs displayed behind shop counters. Those reaching school age now will grow up without seeing heavily branded tobacco packs because of plain packaging. I thank the Senators for all their support in the past, for the various tobacco interventions and for their aims at saving lives.I ask that we continue to support tobacco legislation that will come the way of Senators in future. If we believe in our children's health and well-being, as mentioned by many Senators, it makes real sense to go ahead and implement this as soon as possible. I am sure with the guidance of the Department, we will do that. I do not know if I will be in my current position at that stage but if I must I will pass the baton to somebody else. I thank the Senators for this opportunity.