Thomas Pringle TD
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Question on legislation to regulate sunbeds

QUESTION NO: 1559

DÁIL QUESTIONS addressed to the Minister for Health (Dr. James Reilly)
by Deputies
for WRITTEN ANSWER on 18/09/2013

 

* To ask the Minister for Health when he plans to introduce legislation to regulate the use of sunbeds.

– Thomas Pringle T.D.

For WRITTEN answer on Wednesday, 18th September, 2013.
REPLY.
The Public Health (Sunbeds) Bill has now been drafted. Under the Draft Bill, I propose to make it an offence to sell or hire a sunbed to a person under 18 years of age or allow such a person to use a sunbed on a sunbed premises. Breaches of this core provision will result in prosecution and very significant penalties will be available to the courts in cases of non-compliance.

The Draft Bill provides for a prohibition on sunbed businesses from permitting persons under 18 years of age from purchasing or hiring a sunbed or using a sunbed on a sunbed premises. Other key provisions included in the Bill:-
(i) a prohibition on the unsupervised use of sunbeds in a sunbed premises;
(ii) an exemption for medical purposes;
(iii) control on the remote sale or hire of sunbeds (internet transactions);
(iv) sunbed operators, sellers and hirers will be required to notify the HSE;
(v) a requirement that sunbed operators provide training for staff;
(vi) an enforcement regime and the imposition of penalties for non-compliance;
(vii) an obligation on all sunbed operators to provide protective eyewear to users;
(viii) a requirement that warning signs be displayed in all sunbed premises;
(ix) a prohibition on certain promotional marketing practices;
(x) a requirement on operators to ensure that sunbed users are made fully aware of the potential dangers of sunbed use; and a related provision whereby sunbed users are required to sign to confirm that they have been made so aware.

I am delighted to be in a position to confirm that the drafting of the Bill has been completed and that the Bill has been notified to the EU Commission under the EU Transparency Directive – a process that will take a minimum of 3 months to complete. Following completion of the Commission’s process, the Bill will be published and initiated in the Oireachtas.

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