Teresa Costello (Fianna Fail)

I raise a matter of urgent public health concern, which is the continued use and abuse of sunbeds in Ireland. Last week, the Institute of Public Health published a troubling report that provided an overview of sunbed use in Ireland and policy options to reduce skin cancer risk. I will take this opportunity to commend the institute on its critical work and to acknowledge the depth of research and analysis that went into this publication. The findings are stark. Ireland has one of the highest rates of skin cancer in the world. More than 13,000 people are diagnosed every year. European data now confirms that we have the seventh highest prevalence of melanoma in the EU. Melanoma is a deadly disease. Just one single session on a sunbed can increase a person's risk of developing melanoma by 20%. That is a shocking statistic that we just cannot afford to ignore. The UV rays emitted by sunbeds can be up to 15 times more intense than the midday Mediterranean sun. These are levels of exposure that no person would encounter in Ireland or anywhere else in Europe without the artificial and hazardous intervention of a sunbed. That is why I welcome the comments by An Taoiseach last week. He said the Government is actively considering a ban on sunbeds. I commend the Minister of State, Deputy Jennifer Murnane O'Connor, on her swift and serious engagement on this issue. Her announcement of a cross-departmental working group to examine the banning of commercial sunbed use is both timely and necessary.

In the meantime, we are facing an even more urgent danger, which I find deeply disturbing. The IPH report reveals that children as young as ten years of age have used sunbeds here in Ireland. Let that sink in. This is illegal. It is a criminal offence to sell or hire a sunbed to any person under the age of 18, yet this law is being breached and children are being exposed to carcinogenic UV radiation as a result. I will send a clear and direct message; the health of our young people is not negotiable. This is not just a beauty fad or a harmless indulgence. It is a gateway to serious illness and lifelong consequences. We in Fianna Fáil are beginning to work on a campaign to explore legislative options to fully ban sunbeds in Ireland. This is about more than regulation; this is about protecting lives.