An Ceann Comhairle: Amendment No. 1 in the name of Deputy Sherlock has been ruled out of order, as it does not arise out of committee proceedings.

Deputy Pádraig Rice: I move amendment No. 2:

In page 27, to delete lines 5 to 39, and in page 28, to delete lines 1 to 7 and substitute the following:

“Retail packaging of nicotine inhaling product and nicotine consumption products

32E.(1) Subject to Regulation 29 of the Regulations of 2016 and subsection (6), a unit packet of a nicotine inhaling product or a nicotine consumption product intended for sale by retail in the State shall comply with the following requirements:

(a) the outer surface thereof shall be a prescribed colour;

(b) the inner surface thereof shall be a prescribed colour;

(c) it shall not bear any decorative ridges, embossing or other embellishments;

(d) it shall not contain an adhesive that is coloured or non-transparent;

(e) it shall not contain any imagery such as cartoons or graphics, other than—

(i) a single realistic depiction of the nicotine inhaling product or nicotine consumption product, which depiction complies with the requirements of sections 32C and 32D, or

(ii) any illustrated safety or usage instructions;

(f) where any text, safety or usage instructions or a trade mark is visible, such text, safety or usage instructions or trade mark shall be a prescribed colour;

(g) it shall not contain any affixed item or any item other than the nicotine inhaling product or nicotine consumption product itself and any inner packaging other than as provided for by law.

(2) A barcode or other identification mark or code may be printed once on a unit packet and, if so printed, shall be printed in a prescribed colour.

(3) Subsections (1) and (2) shall apply with all necessary modifications to any other form of outside packaging of nicotine inhaling products or nicotine consumption products.

(4) A wrapper that covers a unit packet or any other form of outside packaging for a nicotine inhaling product or a nicotine consumption product shall comply with the following requirements:

(a) it shall be transparent and not be coloured;

(b) it shall not bear any decorative ridges, embossing or other embellishments;

(c) where a tear strip is included, such tear strip shall be a prescribed colour;

(d) it shall not have any affixed item other than as provided for by law.

(5) Where a unit packet of a nicotine inhaling product or a nicotine consumption product contains a lining or inner packaging, such lining or inner packaging shall be of such colour and material as may be prescribed.

(6) Subsection (1) shall not apply to any warnings or identification marks (including health warnings) provided for by law.

(7) A person who sells by retail a nicotine inhaling product which contravenes subsection (1), (2), (4) or (5) commits an offence.”.”.

On the amendment that was ruled out of order, just to note that it deals with an important issue. Maybe it could be considered at a future stage. It is happening that they are being given out for free at festivals and I think Deputy Sherlock had a point there.

On my own amendments, I will speak about amendments Nos. 2 and 3 together because they are related. On Second Stage, I raised concerns about the exclusion of nicotine pouches from the packaging and flavouring restrictions. We should treat nicotine pouches and any other nicotine consumption products the same as we are treating vapes. It is incredibly short-sighted not to amend this legislation. If it is not addressed now, it seems inevitable that further legislation will be required. As I have said repeatedly, we should use our time effectively and efficiently in the Dáil and we should legislate here while we have the opportunity instead of waiting, coming back with another Bill and doing this at a future stage. We should do this now.

The amendments I am putting forward today have been drafted in collaboration with the Irish Cancer Society and the Irish Heart Foundation, which support the calls here. I hope the Dáil will endorse them. As people will know, nicotine pouches are small, odourless tobacco-free pouches that contain nicotine, flavourings and other ingredients. They are placed between the lips and the gum. You get between 15 and 20 pouches for around €5 to €7. They are available in various strengths and are designed to deliver high-concentration amounts of nicotine into the bloodstream. There is no smoke or vapour with these products, unlike cigarettes or vapes. At the moment these products are openly displayed in shops in bright, attractive packaging and in a wide variety of flavours. We have talked in the Social Democrats - my colleague, Deputy Whitmore, has raised it numerous times - about the rise in teens using these products and how they are being targeted in the advertising of these products. It is no longer just anecdotal evidence. We now have data which was financed by the Department of Health. In May 2025, the European school survey project on alcohol and other drugs found that 8% of 15- and 16-year-olds reported having used nicotine pouches at some point, while 4% currently use nicotine pouches. The use of nicotine pouches was significantly higher among male students at 9.1% and the most common age at which people started using these nicotine pouches was 15. It is important to note that this data is from fieldwork carried out between March and May of 2024. Given the noticeable surge in nicotine pouch use since then and the aggressive marketing of these products, we would have to assume that it is much higher now. We need to take action on this and I do not think we should delay, otherwise we will be back here again. If we do not accept these amendments tonight, we will be here in future with another Bill.

We will be trying to do it then. As I said, we should try to close all of the gaps now and be efficient in how we deal with legislation in the House. The Government should be open to taking amendments from the Opposition. These amendments were drafted in collaboration with the Irish Cancer Society and the Irish Heart Foundation. I encourage the Minister of State to accept them....

[Debate continues on the Oireachtas website]