Results 41-60 of 1,073,753 for in 'Dáil debates' OR in 'Committee meetings' (speaker:Tom Kitt OR speaker:Anne Rabbitte OR speaker:Ciarán Cannon OR speaker:Johnny Mythen OR speaker:Bríd Smith OR speaker:Patrick Costello OR speaker:Pauline Tully OR speaker:Eamon Ryan OR speaker:Róisín Shortall OR speaker:Mary Butler OR speaker:Neasa Hourigan OR speaker:Patrick O'Donovan OR speaker:Kathleen Funchion OR speaker:Matt Shanahan OR speaker:Matt Carthy OR speaker:Colm Brophy OR speaker:Stephen Donnelly OR speaker:Pa Daly OR speaker:Holly Cairns)

Saincheisteanna Tráthúla - Topical Issue Debate: Social Welfare Payments (10 Oct 2024)

Bernard Durkan: I apologise for my late entry. I assumed my matter was No. 4 but it is No. 1. I tabled this matter on the basis of a few experiences I have had in recent times. The first relates to a person who has serious health problems, who is not and will never be fit to work again. The person made an application for a disability allowance, which takes forever of course, as we all know. In the...

Saincheisteanna Tráthúla - Topical Issue Debate: Social Welfare Payments (10 Oct 2024)

Dara Calleary: Gabhaim buíochas leis an Teachta. I have a different topic. It is in the social protection area but it relates to obtaining payments. We can shoehorn it into what the Deputy has just said. I am taking this matter on behalf of the Minister, Deputy Humphreys. In my time I have not had any such experience. I have been fortunate in that we have had an excellent relationship with the...

Select Committee on Health: Public Health (Tobacco) (Amendment) Bill 2024: Committee Stage (10 Oct 2024)

Stephen Donnelly: I do not have an opening statement prepared. I thank the committee for facilitating today. I was keen for us to accelerate this legislation on the off-chance that the election is not in March of next year. It has the potential to save an awful lot of lives over many, many years. I thank colleagues for facilitating the session today.

Select Committee on Health: Public Health (Tobacco) (Amendment) Bill 2024: Committee Stage (10 Oct 2024)

Stephen Donnelly: I thank Deputy Cullinane. I agree with the broad thrust of what the amendments do, which is in part to say, let us continue with the targeted research and also to explore other ways we can reduce harm. One of the specific ways the Deputy has looked at is the reduction of nicotine content or "denicotinisation", which is a new word to me.

Select Committee on Health: Public Health (Tobacco) (Amendment) Bill 2024: Committee Stage (10 Oct 2024)

Stephen Donnelly: I agree with the thrust of what Deputy Cullinane is trying to achieve. I am not going to accept the amendments, not because I do not agree with what he is saying, but because we can go broader than this. I got a briefing from the Department in response to the Deputy's amendments. There are two points to make. One is we are doing the research all the time. The research is ongoing, be it...

Select Committee on Health: Public Health (Tobacco) (Amendment) Bill 2024: Committee Stage (10 Oct 2024)

Róisín Shortall: Apologies for being late, but I was speaking on the statements on mental health and it was an unfortunate clash. Regarding smoking cessation supports, over the last two years this committee has dealt a lot with vaping and smoking. We urge the Minister to accelerate the production of the legislation to deal with the flavours and disposable vapes which we called for at this committee over...

Select Committee on Health: Public Health (Tobacco) (Amendment) Bill 2024: Committee Stage (10 Oct 2024)

Stephen Donnelly: On 10 September, I brought a memorandum to the Cabinet on the proposed vaping legislation. I now have Government approval to draft the Bill. A comprehensive heads of Bill document is in place. My officials, including the two officials with me today, have put a lot of work into that. It was more complex than I originally envisaged. When we are restricting packaging and colouring, there is...

Select Committee on Health: Public Health (Tobacco) (Amendment) Bill 2024: Committee Stage (10 Oct 2024)

Róisín Shortall: We are getting mixed messages on this issue, at the very least, and also mixed objectives. The Minister said there is emerging evidence of harm to adults from vaping. I have not seen that evidence. It would be interesting to see it. However, such evidence is relative. Is it indicating that vaping is more dangerous than smoking to adult smokers?

Select Committee on Health: Public Health (Tobacco) (Amendment) Bill 2024: Committee Stage (10 Oct 2024)

Stephen Donnelly: No. It is the opposite.

Select Committee on Health: Public Health (Tobacco) (Amendment) Bill 2024: Committee Stage (10 Oct 2024)

Róisín Shortall: If vaping is less dangerous than smoking, we should be encouraging people to vape in an attempt to get off cigarettes. We have talked about the importance of ensuring nicotine chewing gum remains affordable because it is an important tool in giving up cigarettes. Why would the Minister for Finance interfere in what is, in essence, a public health matter? It sounds a bit like the Government...

Select Committee on Health: Public Health (Tobacco) (Amendment) Bill 2024: Committee Stage (10 Oct 2024)

Stephen Donnelly: The official advice from the HSE for smokers is not to take up vaping but to use nicotine replacement therapy, NRT. As the Deputy is aware, we have made those products free. The initial indications are positive in terms of the impact that is having. What the Minister, Deputy Chambers, did by way of taxation is consistent with our public health position, which is not to move people from...

Select Committee on Health: Public Health (Tobacco) (Amendment) Bill 2024: Committee Stage (10 Oct 2024)

Róisín Shortall: Does the Minister see no role for vaping in smoking cessation? I have never previously heard this theory. Is that what he is saying?

Select Committee on Health: Public Health (Tobacco) (Amendment) Bill 2024: Committee Stage (10 Oct 2024)

Stephen Donnelly: The HSE view, and, obviously, it knows what it is talking about from a clinical perspective, is that the way to help people give up smoking is through smoking cessation programmes, NRT, etc. Speaking personally, I know people who have moved from cigarettes to vapes. I believe them when they say that if vapes did not exist, they would be smoking. In the UK, there is a focus on vaping as an...

Select Committee on Health: Public Health (Tobacco) (Amendment) Bill 2024: Committee Stage (10 Oct 2024)

Róisín Shortall: That is fine but why is the Minister discouraging vaping for smokers if, as he said, smoking is far more damaging than vaping?

Select Committee on Health: Public Health (Tobacco) (Amendment) Bill 2024: Committee Stage (10 Oct 2024)

Stephen Donnelly: The HSE's position is not based around smoking versus vaping; it is about smoking versus not smoking through NRT.

Select Committee on Health: Public Health (Tobacco) (Amendment) Bill 2024: Committee Stage (10 Oct 2024)

Róisín Shortall: That does not make sense in the real world. Is any other country taking this approach? It would be great if nobody smoked but the reality, unfortunately, is that lots of people still smoke and it does them damage. The Minister is saying that we know anecdotally that smokers who use vaping as a means of ceasing smoking, or at least reducing it, find it very beneficial. Is that something to...

Select Committee on Health: Public Health (Tobacco) (Amendment) Bill 2024: Committee Stage (10 Oct 2024)

Stephen Donnelly: No, I heard and understand the Deputy's point. The public health view is not to encourage people to move from smoking to vaping.

Select Committee on Health: Public Health (Tobacco) (Amendment) Bill 2024: Committee Stage (10 Oct 2024)

Róisín Shortall: That is in an ideal world. Presumably, the public health view is not really to move from smoking to nicotine replacement; it is to stop smoking.

Select Committee on Health: Public Health (Tobacco) (Amendment) Bill 2024: Committee Stage (10 Oct 2024)

Stephen Donnelly: That is its view.