Joanne Collins (Sinn Fein)

I wish to start on a positive note. We had the announcement over the weekend of Ireland and, more important, Clare and Limerick winning the bid for EuroPride 2028. I congratulate those who went forward with the bid, including Limerick Pride, QuareClare and The Outing Festival, with the help of Shannon Region Conference and Sports Bureau, UL Events, Mayor John Moran, Fáilte Ireland and Tourism Ireland. This is fantastic to get for the region. Not only will we have the Ryder Cup in 2027, they reckon that this event in 2028 is going to be even bigger than the Ryder Cup, with more than 200,000 travelling to Barcelona last week for this year's event.

I have some props with me. This is a box of cigarettes. I was smoking for 25 years. I gave them up about seven years ago. It was not for health reasons, but because of the cost as they increased in price every year. I discovered the vape, which helped me to get off cigarettes. I had tried to get off them for many years. I could not do it cold turkey. I found the vape, which I find really good to keep me off cigarettes but, more importantly in terms of the cost of living, it is unbelievable to be able to afford and still have that little luxury in my life. Not many would call it a luxury but I hold my hand up - I do call it a luxury because I quite enjoy my vape. However, from 1 November the juice for vapes is going up by €5. To buy a bottle of juice today is €5. It is going to be €10 on 1 November. I have never in my life seen a tax put on something to double the price of it in one go. It is absolutely crazy to double the price of something just for the sake of taxing it. It is going to be unfair on people who are trying to get off cigarettes, rely on a vape and cannot afford to go through other measures. I do not agree with the tax going on them.