Stephen Donnelly (Wicklow, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank Senators for the points they made. With regard to product placement, I am watching a particular series at the moment where there is very obvious product placement going on. In that case, it is alcohol. I take the Senator's point but I will have to revert to him on the specific point he raises.

In response to Senator Boyhan's question, what I am saying is that we have a second Bill coming and there is a consultation open.I do not want to pre-empt where it goes, but what I can say is that the reason we are moving this Bill through very quickly is to ensure we ban the sale of vapes to children and anyone under 18 very quickly. We are also bringing in some important additional tobacco controls in this legislation.

There is a second Bill, which we are beginning to draft now. It will be informed by the public consultation, the pre-legislative work the health committee did and, indeed, the Second Stage debate on this Bill in the Seanad. The second Bill will address things like flavouring, packaging and the use of single-use, disposable vapes. We will need to see the outcome of the public consultation and take legal advice on exactly what we can do within the Single Market rules, but one of the things I would like to see is the introduction of further curbs on point-of-sale advertising. We are all aware that when we go to get our petrol or into a newsagent, in some places, we are just bombarded by this very colourful, attractive and overwhelming point-of-sale advertising for vapes. I certainly want to take a look at that.

Could we go further in terms of an advertising ban and apply this not just to movies rated for under 18s but to those for all ages? I am not committing to doing that, but I am committing to keeping an open mind on the issue. I understand where the amendments are coming from. In private discussions with the proposers, they have made the point to me that, as we all know, there are plenty of people under 18 at movies that might have an 18 rating in a cinema. I think part of the intent of these proposed amendments is to try to provide additional protection there as well.