There is no serious doubt. I did not want to be correcting the Deputy during the debate but she has made several comments about me believing this is not actionable legislation. I never said that.

This is fully actionable.

Centrally.

There is a written warning.

It will not stop the gardaí on the ground doing what they need to be able to do.

I move amendment No. 4: In page 7, between lines 30 and 31, to insert the following: “Review of operation of Act 6. (1) The Minister shall— (a) not later than 18 months after the commencement of this section, commence a review of the operation of this Act, and (b) as soon as practicable after the completion of the review, prepare a report, in writing, of the findings of the review and of the conclusions drawn from those findings and cause copies of the report to be laid before each House of the Oireachtas. (2) In c…

I am delighted to be in the Seanad to introduce this important legislation to the House. The Bill is designed to reduce the health harms of smoking through reducing the use of tobacco products and nicotine inhaling products, such as e-cigarettes, in particular by young people. The Bill will achieve these objectives through further restrictions on the sale and advertising of these products, the introduction of a licensing system for the retail sale of the products and strengthening the powers of the enforcement auth…

I thank colleagues across the Seanad for their contributions and support for this Bill. This Bill will do three important things. First, it will make it illegal to sell vapes to people under the age of 18. Second, it will bring in more restrictions on advertising for vapes. Third, it will bring in additional controls on the sale of both tobacco and nicotine inhaling products. This includes a ban on vending machines, a ban on mobile sales units and the licensing regime. In terms of timing, I want to see the ban on t…

We looked in the round at a lot of different issues, and-----

-----that issue-----

-----can be considered in the public consultation, which will open up next week. If the Senator or others want to-----

Obviously, Senator, I would view that as a-----

-----comment that it is not based in fact. Obviously, we take this seriously. We obviously do. Look at the range of measures-----

Look at the range of measures that-----

-----we are bringing in. I thank colleagues again and I look forward to being back here on Committee Stage very soon.

I thank the Deputy very much for his support for the stroke strategy. I think we can agree that our healthcare professionals are making important progress on behalf of patients and families. As a result of the work over the last ten years, deaths from the most common form of stroke have fallen by nearly 30%, which is very welcome. The average length of stay for patients has fallen a lot as well, from 11 days in hospital to eight. The proportion of patients being seen by a medical team within ten minutes of arriving…

I think we are going to be having different versions of this conversation throughout the next hour and a half, based on the questions the Deputy has tabled, which I fully appreciate. As to whether there is a level of funding for new development next year at the scale there is for this year, there is not. We will not be expanding these services next year at the pace we expanded them this year. However, is there funding to expand services, which can include stroke services? The answer is "Yes". The Deputy will be awa…

We will probably be repeating ourselves a bit this morning. There is not the level of funding next year for the same pace of roll-out of the strategy that I and the Deputy would like to see. However, there is significant funding in there to enhance services. We are both agreed that safe staffing makes a difference. It makes a difference to patients and that includes stroke patients. That is expanding. We are both agreed that bringing down the inpatient day-case waiting lists is going to make a big difference to all…

I thank the Deputy for raising this issue. I agree that the waiting times for scoliosis and spina bifida surgeries are not acceptable. I am conscious of the pain, suffering and anguish that are caused to the children and young adults who are waiting and to their families. For this reason, I committed €19 million in 2022 and 2023 to tackling these lists. Our goal is clear; it is to reduce the wait time for anyone for whom surgery is clinically appropriate to no more than four months. There is broad agreement on that…

I assure the Deputy, the House and, more important, the people who are waiting for the surgery and their families that a lot of activity is taking place. The resources are in place. The Taoiseach and I met advocacy groups recently. They put many important issues on the table. There is better engagement now. We are looking through a list of actions they asked to be looked at. The Deputy will be aware that Mr. Nayagam is doing an important review looking at some of the issues that have been raised. I have also asked …