Joe O'Reilly (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the Minister and acknowledge his very cogent presentation of the legislation and his commitment in this sphere earlier with the vaping legislation, etc. It is excellent. I accept the caveat the Minister highlighted that we cannot be too much of a nanny state but, at the same time, this is a different sphere and we are on different terrain here. It is about addiction, health and safety and saving lives.

Smoking is pernicious. My heart goes out to addicts, namely people who cannot give it up. Most smokers will say, "I would love to give it up but I cannot". I am not in any way judgmental towards them at all because it is a pernicious habit. I am a reformed smoker or a cured smoker. I smoked until about 25 years ago and am probably best placed to speak about this because I know it from both sides. Smoking is hugely damaging to people's health at all ages and becomes progressively more damaging. I would not be standing here in the state of health I am in now or be able to go swimming or walking the way I do had I persisted with smoking. It is an absolutely pernicious, insidious and damaging habit. It is polluting of other people around you, your own clothes and the entire environment.

We are addressing the question of raising the age. One of the most cogent arguments the Minister made - a great argument and a common-sense reason to do this - was that by doing this we will catch young people of 15 or 16 years of age who look more like adults and give legitimacy to a storekeeper, an inspector or whomever in halting them. It will make matters much easier. That is a critical argument for doing it. The empirical evidence the Minister presented as regards addiction and the fact that 50% of teenagers with one packet of cigarettes become dependent or need to go on smoking is horrific. He presents a frightening statistic of a creeping up in this. One can kind of rationalise why this might have happened in the Covid pandemic, with people at home and demented and stressed out with relatives sick or whatever. However, it is a little scary - and the Minister is right that it needs monitoring - that the percentage of 15- and 16-year-olds involved has risen to 14.5% from 13%. That is an important statistic, but not a good one. It is not a great increase but, as the Minister says, the position needs to be carefully monitored.

I am a parent and a former teacher. In the context of both roles, I think this is important legislation. I can imagine my great friend behind me Senator Carrigy, who, among the many hats he wears, has an involvement in the retail sector, may say to the Minister that there could be administrative difficulties, etc., in the retail sector. I do not know what he will say but I assume he came in to point out some of those things. Even with that, however, I still think that the balance of good lies in enacting the legislation. I have no difficulty, on any partisan basis, acknowledging the great job the current Tánaiste, Deputy Micheál Martin, did in banning cigarettes in this country. It was-----