Legislative Measures
Dail Éireann — 2026-01-27
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Jim O'Callaghan (FF), Dublin Bay South

The Deputy can appreciate the difficulties that arise when we are dealing with something that is lawful, such as aerosol or spray deodorants. Obviously, we cannot ban them, but the Deputy is trying to put forward proposals that could facilitate their regulation. Even before we go down the avenue of starting to look at legislation, the most important thing we can do is to educate people and to warn young people about the dangers associated with nitrous oxide or the aerosol narrative that the Deputy just cited. It can have dire consequences for an individual's health. What nitrous oxide in fact does is cut off the oxygen supply to the brain. If people were aware of that and the neurological consequences of it, I do not think they would be engaging in the use of nitrous oxide to the extent they are now. I am also pleased to tell the Deputy that between 2020 and November 2025, the Revenue Commissioners seized approximately 250,000 kg of nitrous oxide canisters, so there is a recognition that this is being imported for purposes other than legitimate purposes.

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Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/dail/2026-01-27/debate/main
Retrieved: 2026-09-14T01:01:01+00:00
Sitting date: 2026-01-27