Colm Burke (Cork North Central, Fine Gael)
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292. To ask the Minister for Health the steps his Department has taken to ensure that Ireland benefits from the inaugural Leadership Summit on Tobacco Control as it provides a clear opportunity for Ireland to re-establish its tobacco control credentials on the international stage; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [44314/21]

Colm Burke (Cork North Central, Fine Gael)
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293. To ask the Minister for Health the steps his Department will take to work with health ministries in other EU states to ensure that the conference outcomes will be progressed at a European level ahead of EU tobacco tax directive, the EU tobacco products directive, the EU cancer beating plan and the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control conference of parties scheduled for November 2021; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [44315/21]

Stephen Donnelly (Wicklow, Fianna Fail)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 292 and 293 together.

The selection of Dublin as host city of the prestigious World Conference on Tobacco or Health from among multiple applicants was a major achievement. It recognised Ireland's history of leadership on tobacco control and provided an opportunity to reaffirm our commitment to tobacco control and to the international agreements of which Ireland is a signatory. The conference is the premier convention on tobacco–related topics and serves as one of the main opportunities for continuing international engagement on the global tobacco control conversation.

The 2021 conference was postponed as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic but a Leadership Summit on Tobacco Control is being held in its place as an online event. While it is most unfortunate that the physical conference cannot go ahead, the Leadership Summit does provide the opportunity for Ireland to reaffirm our commitment to addressing the tobacco epidemic. Both the Taoiseach and I will be delivering remarks to the Summit that will speak to Ireland's ongoing commitment to progressing tobacco control at home as well as supporting international efforts to curb tobacco use across the globe. The Summit will provide a platform for sharing knowledge and experience and for identifying future initiatives that will help to reduce the preventable death and ill-health attributable to tobacco smoking.

Ireland is committed to fully engaging with our EU and international colleagues at the Leadership Summit, in discussions around the review of the Tobacco Products Directive at EU level and at the Conference of the Parties meeting on the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control in November. My Department has already engaged with the European Commission in its review of the Tobacco Products Directive and we will play an active role in any future discussions at Member State level on how the Directive is reshaped. Similarly, we look forward to positively contributing to discussions that will take place during the Conference of the Parties. We will ensure that, wherever possible, the key lessons on tobacco control initiatives from the Leadership Summit are carried forward into each of these fora.