142. Deputy Terence Flanagan asked the Minister for Health the parts of the Public Health (Standardised Packaging of Tobacco) Act 2015 that he plans to amend by way of the Health (Miscellaneous Provisions) (No. 2) Bill; when he expects to bring the heads of this Bill to Cabinet; if this Bill will be subject to a public consultation process; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [33604/15]

Minister for Health (Deputy Leo Varadkar): The Public Health (Standardised Packaging of Tobacco) Act, 2015 was enacted on the 10 March 2015. The Act currently provides for a number of elements to be prescribed by the Minister by way of regulations. While developing these regulations a number of other necessary and practical matters were identified as being required, some of which are in the interests of consumer information. These other matters include inter alia, text in a prescribed form to indicate the type and weight or number of tobacco products contained in the packet, the inclusion of a tab to allow consumers to reseal the pack and the inclusion of a calibration mark which may be necessary for the automated production of the packaging. Amendments will be made to the 2015 Act to provide for regulation making powers for these matters. As the Deputy has indicated, it is anticipated that these technical amendments will be included in a Health Miscellaneous Provisions Bill, the General Scheme of which will be circulated to Government shortly.