2026-01-20

I move: "That the Bill be now read a Second Time." Before I get on to the Bill, I want to say I am disappointed but not surprised that the Government is going to delay this Bill by nine months. Nitrous oxide is an epidemic and will only get worse in the next nine months. The Minister's amendment tonight is symptomatic of this do-nothing Government. There is no urgency and no action. It is delaying this life-changing legislation simply because it is a Sinn Féin Bill. This is no way to govern. I am sure the Minister's team of staff will find problems in the Bill and no doubt he will refer to them when he speaks, but they will be the same problems when the Minister lets the Bill pass in nine months. The Bill should be referred to the select committee at this stage because that is what the committee is for, namely, to tease out any issues with legislation. The Minister is literally kicking the can down the road. I ask him to withdraw his amendment. As the Minister is aware, nitrous oxide has legitimate purposes. It is used in the healthcare sector, in the medical sector and in veterinary businesses as well. It is commonly known on the streets as laughing gas, balloons and whippets. When people get their hands on nitrous oxide, especially young people, they inhale it through balloons. It cuts off oxygen to the brain and gives a light-headed giddy effect. That is where the name "laughing gas" came from. When it first came in, it was in small silver canisters of probably about 8 g of nitrous oxide but this has changed because of a lack of regulation over the years into super-sized canisters of 670 g. There are even bigger ones than that. Nitrous oxide causes major problems when it gets into the hands of young people. The Minister does not have to believe me, as there have been a number of reports in the last five years on nitrous oxide. The Mater hospital has said there has been an increase in the number of young people presenting to the accident and emergency department with sensory and balance issues, neurological conditions, mental health conditions and respiratory conditions. I could go on and on. Just before Christmas, Tallaght Hospital produced a report on nitrous oxide. In the previous 12 months it had 18 people presenting to the hospital who were diagnosed with a neurological condition just because of inhaling nitrous oxide. These conditions can be life-altering. As was reported on RTÉ news, children are presenting to Crumlin children's hospital with third degree burns from inhaling nitrous oxide. When let out of the canister, compressed nitrous oxide is cold. If people put it straight to their mouths, they get third degree frostbite burns. If they hold it in their hands, they get burns on their hands as well. A recent study by the adolescent addiction service in Cherry Orchard showed an increase of 175% in the number of young people presenting to the HSE's addiction services looking for help with their nitrous oxide use. I have worked in addiction services. When you see an increase of 175% in one year, you know there is a problem. The EU has produced a report and is looking to put in place a derogation to prohibit the sale of nitrous oxide to the public because of the damage it is doing to people's reproductive health. That is when it is used in a clinical setting, such as in dentistry. God knows what it is doing to young people who are inhaling nitrous oxide if it is causing damage in those controlled settings. Is this one of the reasons the Minister is kicking it down the road? Why wait? We are a sovereign country. We do not have to wait for the EU. We can do this here and now. The Bill itself is similar to legislation that was introduced in Holland a couple of years ago. There are a few changes. I thank the Office of Parliamentary Legal Advisers in the Oireachtas for its help on this. The Bill is 20 pages long. It was not just thrown together. It took 14 months to get to this stage. It went through every kind of critical thinking and stakeholder conversation possible. On that note, I thank the Clondalkin Drug and Alcohol Task Force for its help with the Bill. I welcome those from Dublin city's Comhairle na nÓg who are in the Gallery tonight. They have done a huge amount of work to raise awareness around nitrous oxide among young people. I will simplify these 20 pages. The Bill will require wholesalers to hold a licence to sell nitrous oxide products. Retailers who sell nitrous oxide products will need to be on a register of approved sellers. It will only be possible to sell these products to exempt purchasers. It is a simple Bill that can make a big difference. The Minister has five years. He can kick this down the road for nine years but he has five years and has not come up with an alternative. If he comes up with an alternative in his ten-minute speech after I have sat down, I am open to listening to it, but urgency is needed on this.

Molaim mo chomhghleacaí, an Teachta Mark Ward, as a chuid obair feachtasaíochta ar an gceist seo. Deputy Ward deserves huge credit for the work he has done not only in bringing forward this legislation but in setting out the issues around nitrous oxide for this House. We know it has legitimate uses in the medical and catering sectors but it is clear that its sale must be regulated in the interests of public health. That case has been made very strongly. Given what has been said by gardaí, customs officials, youth workers and medical practitioners, it is incredible that the Government is seeking to delay this Bill. It is important to say that this Bill will not criminalise young people for simple possession of nitrous oxide. However, it will give gardaí the power to seize canisters from those without appropriate licences. Unfortunately, the misuse of nitrous oxide has become more commonplace across the State. It is clear that young people are using it because it is cheaper than alcohol and because it is readily available. This House has to listen to the people in the field. Sometimes we do things with the best intentions only for them to have other impacts. Ciara Murphy, project leader at the Finglas youth service, highlighted to "Prime Time" how the price of alcohol is driving the use of nitrous oxide. She basically said that young people at parties may not be drinking because alcohol is expensive and so they choose nitrous oxide to get their buzz. We have to listen to voices like hers. Many of the young people who are using this product do not have an awareness of the potential dangers. Many think it is a harmless activity. The reality is very different, however. Nitrous oxide cuts off oxygen to the brain. Those who have treated young people who have ended up in hospital as a result of misusing this product have raised serious concerns. Inhalation often makes users feel light-headed. It can cause headaches and loss of consciousness. In certain cases, its use can trigger serious side-effects, including spinal cord damage. Across Europe, nitrous oxide has been linked to numerous road collisions and yet, unlike alcohol and other drugs, it is not tested for. This needs to be addressed as a matter of urgency. This is a growing problem, particularly now, with the involvement of organised crime. Revenue and customs have said that more than 1,000 large canisters are being seized at ports every week. These are being brought into the State by organised criminal gangs. The failure to regulate the sale of nitrous oxide before now has allowed a new market to be developed, where it is being used as a recreational drug, particularly by young people. We have to take action now. The first step must be the passage of this Bill tonight.

The harms from using nitrous oxide are very well known. I do not think the Minister will dispute any of the information that Deputy Ward has provided. There is not a TD in the Dáil who does not want to ensure that this drug is kept from destroying another young life. We are all in agreement on that. I am mystified as to why the Minister wants to kick this down the road given that we all agree that action is needed. The Minister and the Government say they want to take action but, for some bizarre reason, they just do not want to act now. Will the Minister make that make sense for me? Figures from the HSE tell us that taking action on nitrous oxide cannot wait. The 175% increase in the numbers attending the adolescent addiction services who have taken nitrous oxide tell us that this is a growing problem. The problem is growing because nitrous oxide is freely available. The people who make it and the people who sell it are far ahead of the Government and moving much faster. They are already latching onto flavours, they have colourful packaging and they are heavily marketing this to children and yet the Minister says that action can wait. That does not make any sense. There is not a town or a village in my constituency or any other constituency that has not seen the upsurge in these cans. You can see the canisters lying around. You see them lying around in the evenings. If the Minister does not believe me, he can talk to his local Tidy Towns group. They will tell him the same. It is everywhere. The reason it is everywhere and the reason it is growing is that it is freely available and unregulated. That is on the Government. I commend Deputy Ward on the work he has done not just on this legislation but in this area generally. It is incredibly worthwhile work but it all points in the one direction, as the Minister knows. It points in the direction of us taking action. We know what the harms are. We know that young people are taking this as a cheap alternative to alcohol. We know that, in many cases, they are not aware of the potential damage. We know that the potential for damage is huge. There is only one way to deal with this and that is through regulation. That should be done today. The Minister knows well that legislation does not pass in the blink of an eye. It takes time. If there are issues with the legislation, the Minister should work with Deputy Ward to figure those out. Let us do the pre-legislative scrutiny and get this legislation passed. Let us send a message to young people, to their parents and to our communities that we take this issue seriously and that the Government is willing to take action on it. I urge the Minister to withdraw his amendment.

I commend Deputy Ward and Joseph O'Callaghan in his office on bringing forward this legislation. It is well thought-out and well developed. The Bill Deputy Ward is bringing forward is comprehensive. It does not work against the Government. The Deputy is reaching across the floor, saying that this needs to be implemented and asking the Government to work with us. The Minister has decided to postpone it for nine months. As Deputy O'Reilly said, with how long it takes legislation to get through, it might as well have been kicked into another Dáil by the time the Government gets to it. To be fair to Deputy Ward, for years he has been out front warning about the dangers of nitrous oxide and explaining how young people are at risk and can be harmed. He is trying to do something. You often hear people asking what we do up here. Deputy Ward is trying to make a difference. He is trying to come up with a solution. The Minister should engage with him and with us. We should come together. This is surely something we can all agree on and work with. A consultant neurologist says this is causing nerve damage and potential lifelong harms and impacts to young people. Sinn Féin and Deputy Mark Ward are bringing forward a solution. The Government has had years to act. Deputies have raised this on the floor of the House. The Government once again is failing to protect young people, to regulate and to act. The EU has recognised its dangerous impacts. Holland has moved on it. Britain is looking at banning it. How many young people must be harmed before Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael finally take action? Is this because the areas the Government Deputies represent in the leafy suburbs or whatever might not be affected on the ground, the way working class and some inner city areas are being affected? Maybe then, if it comes to those doors, the private schools and the children of the wealthy, action might be taken. One in five young people attending the HSE adolescent addiction services is now admitting to using it. There is a 175% increase in the last 12 months. How can the Government continue to ignore it? Deputy Ward is working hard. We are trying to make a difference. He has done Trojan work. This should be a no-brainer. This is something we should get together on. We are deeply disappointed by the Minister's amendment to move it out by nine months. I ask him to listen to Deputy Ward and withdraw it. We can work together then to make this the best legislation possible. This is not about criminalising young people; it is about protecting them.

The misuse of nitrous oxide is no longer a fringe issue. It is not something novel. It is happening in housing estates, parks and town centres, and at the back of parish halls all across the State, urban and rural. It is overwhelmingly impacting young people. This substance has legitimate uses in medicine and licensed food businesses and no one disputes that. What we are seeing now is widespread misuse, industrial sized canisters with no legitimate purpose, and a complete failure by Government to keep pace with what is actually happening on the ground. A dangerous drug is being sold online in bulk, trafficked into our communities and pushed on children for profit. Industrial cans of nitrous oxide are ending up in the hands of teenagers. Young people are being told this is harmless when doctors are now treating nerve damage, frostbite and long-term neurological harm. Communities once again are left dealing with the damage. Gardaí are left without clear powers and without a steer. The Government is sitting, once again, on its hands. This Bill shuts down that trade, protects children and gives gardaí the tools they need. The question is whether the Government is prepared to act. The Minister's amendment suggests it is not; it is happy to wait another nine months. The medical evidence is now stark. Consultant neurologists have warned of a clear rise in nerve damage linked directly to nitrous oxide misuse. Young people are presenting with numbness in their hands and feet, balance problems, heart rhythm issues and serious mental health effects. Tallaght hospital has reported multiple neurological diagnoses following inhalation of this gas. The HSE's adolescent addiction service reported that 22% of young people attending the service admitted to using nitrous oxide. That is a startling figure in anybody's language, that so many children are disclosing that as part of their treatment. Those are the children who can avail of that treatment, who are in services, who are connected with the HSE. There are serious public safety implications, too. Driving ability can be impaired, as was stated earlier. This is why this legislation matters. The Bill introduces licensing for wholesalers and a register for retailers. It bans sales to and by under-18s, tightens online sales and, crucially, gives gardaí clear powers to seize and dispose of products that are being misused. I want to acknowledge the work of my colleague, Deputy Mark Ward, who has been raising this issue for years and has shown leadership where Government has not in bringing this Bill before the Dáil. Do not wait nine months to take action. We do not need to wait for other EU member states. If we were to wait for EU member states at every juncture, there would be nothing done. That strikes me as the attitude of this Government to any issue that arises in working-class and rural communities. I am calling on the Minister to support the Bill, to withdraw his amendment and to finally act to protect children, public health and community safety. I urge him to do the right thing here, withdraw his amendment and support this common-sense piece of legislation.

We all accept that nitrous oxide has legitimate uses in medicine, healthcare, veterinary and catering. This legislation ensures that those who legitimately want to sell, buy and use this are the only people who are allowed so that it no longer has the impact it is having on young people across the country. Deputy Ward is absolutely correct. The Government has known about this for a significant period of time. I do not think anyone has to go too far. I do not take the dog for a walk too often but over Christmas I did, with my wife, my youngest son and my niece. At that part of the Blackrock Road where it hits the Red Barns Road, I came across three of these. They are no longer the silver bullets; we are looking at these big industrial pieces. A couple of months ago, I was going in to work in my constituency office. I parked in the Ramparts, the Louth County Council car park. There must have been a major party there as there were eight or nine canisters. That is no big deal. We see them every day, every week, almost everywhere, in parks like the park in my own estate. I do not know how many times they have been posted on the neighbourhood watch Facebook page. They are everywhere. What has also been detailed is the absolute harm it is doing, including neurological harm, frostbite and burns, respiratory issues, nerve damage and right down to the mental health impact that we cannot even contemplate at this point. This is something we can move on today. There is still time for due diligence. The Minister could withdraw his amendment. We could let this go through. On Committee Stage, we could deal with whatever anomalies the Minister says are in this Bill. We could have something fit for purpose, like the Dutch have. I fear an awful lot of states will have something similar before this one does. The Minister and I have had many interactions on the fact that we have not got to grips with the impact drugs are having. Organised crime has a capacity and an ability and is making an absolute fortune out of this. Unfortunately, it is legal because we have not introduced the legislation. We heard recently from the Garda that there are 169 organised crime groups, with 65% involved in drugs. We need to get serious about the whole drugs issue and about nitrous oxide. The Minister can take action now. I commend Deputy Ward on doing a decent piece of work from Opposition. We would like to see the Government follow through and deliver for the young people out there.

The Minister of State, Deputy Murnane O'Connor will move the amendment when she is closing. I will begin in the same way all the other speakers have begun, by commending Deputy Ward on the Bill he has put before the House this evening. It is important that we can have a debate on nitrous oxide. Regrettably, everyone in this House is aware of the prevalence of nitrous oxide being used throughout the country. It is evident in the canisters on the ground in all parts of Ireland. Deputy Gould suggested it was limited to certain areas or certain parts of constituencies. I represent the inner city and south city of Dublin. It is there throughout every part of the constituency that I represent. This is not an issue that is limited to one particular area of our communities. It is very beneficial that we have an opportunity to talk about it, so we can warn younger people about the dangers of taking nitrous oxide. The dangers are very significant, as has been mentioned already. It has significant neurological impact on individuals and can result in serious physical conditions as well. Somebody who is taking nitrous oxide, I regret to say, is playing Russian roulette with their health. A number of colleagues have complained about the fact that it is the proposal of Government to put forward a timed amendment. The reason for that is not that this is a Sinn Féin Bill. Deputy Ward will be aware, and Deputy Carthy will be aware that the last time Sinn Féin had a Bill in Private Members' time, I did not oppose it and it went through. It is not because of that. In truth, the Bill only came to our attention very recently, last week, and some time is required to give careful consideration, particularly since at present, and this may not be recognised, it is a criminal offence to sell nitrous oxide for human consumption. I want to use the timed amendment that Deputy Murnane O'Connor will propose to engage with other Departments and An Garda Síochána in order that we can determine the extent to which this legislation can be moved forward. Deputy Ward will be aware, from recent developments at EU level, that consideration has to be given to it because of our membership of the EU. The timed amendment has not been designed to vote down a Bill just because it is coming from the Opposition. If that were my objective, I would be opposing it and voting it down now. As I mentioned briefly, the misuse of nitrous oxide is already addressed under several Acts. It falls under the definition of a psychoactive substance. Section 3 of the Criminal Justice (Psychoactive Substances) Act 2010 states: "A person who sells a psychoactive substance knowing or being reckless as to whether that substance is being acquired or supplied for human consumption shall be guilty of an offence." The sale of it for human consumption is a criminal offence. Section 74 of the Child Care Act also states: "It shall be an offence for a person to sell, offer or make available a substance to a person under the age of eighteen years or to a person acting on behalf of that person if he knows or has reasonable cause to believe that the substance is ... likely to be inhaled by the person under the age of eighteen years for the purpose of causing intoxication." Responsibility for these Acts rests with my Department and the Department of Children, Disability and Equality, respectively. I have to engage with them. It is noteworthy that the proposed Bill does not list nitrous oxide as a controlled drug under the Misuse of Drugs Act. This is a deliberate and significant policy choice. It means that unlike cannabis or heroin, the simple possession of nitrous oxide for personal use is not being criminalised. The Bill is squarely aimed at the supply chain, not the end user, which aligns with the harm reduction approach favoured by many health experts. I will take this opportunity to commend the ongoing work of the HSE and community groups in responding to the rise of nitrous oxide use. Through public awareness campaigns, harm reduction advice and engagement with at-risk groups, they are working to mitigate the very real health risks, including nerve damage. The HSE actively monitors usage trends and runs targeted awareness campaigns for adults aged over 18 highlighting the long-term risks, such as vitamin B12 deficiency. A key part of this strategy is disseminating a harm reduction fact sheet detailing risks, effects and advice to drug and alcohol task forces, student unions and at festivals. Additionally, parents are also supported with information through various formats, including the drugs.ie website, dedicated fact sheets and a series of webinars. This multifaceted approach is delivered in collaboration with task forces across the country aligning with recommendations from the European Union Drugs Agency. It is also worth highlighting that there are legitimate uses, as Deputy Ward and others indicated, for nitrous oxide. That is why it cannot just be categorised under the Misuse of Drugs Act. That legitimate use is in the area of the medical and catering industries. However, the challenge, as with any substance open to misuse, is to regulate its supply chain effectively without unduly penalising legitimate enterprise. In relation to regulating the supply chain, it is necessary to consider developments at EU level. First, the EU has formally adopted a new harmonised classification for dinitrogen oxide, which is the chemical name for nitrous oxide, under the EU regulation on classification, labelling and packaging of substances and mixtures. This new classification, which will apply from 1 February 2027, designates nitrous oxide, among other things, as a substance that is harmful to reproductive health and causes damage to the nervous system. This reclassification is not merely a technical change. It is the trigger for further regulatory action. The Commission has also published a draft amendment to the regulation on the registration, evaluation, annual authorisation and restriction of chemicals that would restrict the placing on the market of dinitrogen oxide for supply to the public, subject to narrowly defined derogations. Notably, to minimise the possibility of misuse, it is under consideration at EU level whether the derogation should include specific conditions for the sale of cartridges containing this substance, such as restrictions on the maximum volume of the substance that can be sold to members of public as well as age restrictions on the sale of cartridges containing the substance. The second key consideration is procedural. The Bill is likely to be considered a technical regulation under EU Directive No. 2015/1535. This means it is subject to the technical regulations information system notification process, which Deputy Ward is aware of. That requires us to notify the European Commission of the draft legislation. This notification triggers an initial three-month period during which the Bill cannot be adopted. This period allows the Commission and other member states to review the measure. If a detailed opinion is issued, for example, if concerns are raised about potential barriers to trade, this period may be extended for a further three months for products resulting in a total of six months. A longer postponement of 12 to 18 months could occur if the Commission decided to block the national measure in favour of proposing its own comprehensive EU-harmonised legislation. Both developments must be carefully weighed when considering the progress of this domestic legislation. Regardless of the EU developments, the administrative architecture proposed in this Bill raises significant questions about its practical implementation. It would impose a considerable regulatory and financial burden on reputable sellers as well as significant cost to the Exchequer. These costs include the designation and resourcing of a competent licensing and registering authority, the development and implementation of entirely new administrative systems for processing applications and maintaining registers and the necessity of conducting a comprehensive regulatory impact assessment, particularly concerning the effect on the many small- and medium-sized enterprises that legitimately use this on a daily basis. Other issues that would require consideration with stakeholders concern the proposed offences, penalties and powers of search and seizure contained in the Bill. A primary concern is the potential for legal ambiguity due to overlap with existing legislation. For example, section 3 of the psychoactive substances Act I referred to, makes it an offence to sell a substance for human consumption, while the Bill creates a parallel offence of selling nitrous oxide without a licence under section 2. Therefore, a single act of illicitly selling a nitrous oxide canister could be an offence under two different pieces of legislation creating uncertainty as to which should be used for prosecution. I also draw the House's attention to the proposed penalties in the Bill. Under section 14 of the Bill, for the utmost serious offence of illegal sale on indictment, the penalty is a fine or imprisonment for a term not exceeding 12 months or both. That is significantly lower than the offence under the 2010 Act, which allows for penalties up to five years. I again commend Deputy Ward on the effort he has gone to in drafting this legislation. Both he and I share a desire to inform young people about the dangers of nitrous oxide. I want to see it regulated in such a way that it cannot be availed of by young people. At present, it is a criminal offence to sell nitrous oxide for human consumption. It is also a criminal offence to sell it to somebody aged under 18. As I indicated in my response, however, there are regulatory issues involved with the EU and other matters that require consideration. The easy thing for me to do would be to just vote it down or even to let it through, but further consideration is required in order to give this Bill the consideration it deserves.

I commend my colleague Deputy Mark Ward on his relentless work on this Bill. Throughout the length and breadth of the country, we are seeing that what were once small silver bullet containers of nitrous oxide are now huge canisters littering our parks, streets and shopping areas. This is no longer a small-scale issue. I have been sent photos by my constituents of an entire shopping area in my hometown covered by empty boxes of canisters and huge canisters lying around in plain sight. In one residential area alone, the noise, litter and antisocial behaviour from people using these huge canisters on a daily and nightly basis became so bad that local residents, Drogheda gardaí, myself and my party colleague, Councillor Eric Donovan, had to put a collective special focus on the area for a sustained period to end the behaviour. The owners' management company installed new CCTV cameras to look at the area being used to consume vast amounts of FastGas. Local residents had to clean up the area. They ensured that whenever cars from outside their area parked and the groups began to gather to distribute and use the balloons, Drogheda gardaí were called immediately. Thankfully, they responded to the calls and moved the people with laughing gas on. That was several months ago and, thankfully, residents have reported that the gangs, canisters and antisocial behaviour stayed away from this area but, unfortunately, it just spreads elsewhere. Only last month, Revenue officials were at the public accounts committee, where I raised this Bill and what it contained with them. Revenue and customs officials said that nitrous oxide is being brought into Ireland at scale by organised crime gangs and is being used nationwide. While the smaller cartridges have a use in catering, Mr. Thomas Talbot, from Revenue's criminal investigation team said there is no legitimate use for the larger canisters. There is growing evidence of the use of nitrous oxide in communities. The number of instances of harm caused by the misuse of nitrous oxide are becoming increasingly apparent. I explained to the Revenue officials that this Bill was coming before the House to provide for the regulation of the sale of nitrous oxide. I told them it would ensure that nitrous oxide would be regulated for commercial use only and this Bill would give An Garda powers to seize canisters from those lacking the appropriate licences. I asked if it was something Revenue would support. They responded, on the public record, that they support this legislation. I ask the Minister to take the revenue stream away from criminal gangs and protect the health of our youth. Not only should he be supporting this Bill now, but he should be doing all in his power to enact it without delay.

The Bill is about protecting children, making it harder for them to purchase so-called laughing gas and ensuring that it is only sold for legitimate commercial and health purposes. Nitrous oxide has legitimate uses in health as a sedative and in the catering industry for use in whipped cream canisters. Unfortunately, and particularly since the Covid era, we have seen its misuse by some young people. Anyone, particularly those of us living in urban areas, will have seen the discarded so-called silver bullets on the footpaths and roadsides where young people congregate. They are literally littered all over parts of my city of Limerick. It is a drug that can have a long-term impact on health. A recent study found that health workers who have been exposed to small amounts of the gas can experience fertility issues. A Mater hospital neurologist has reported on the increase in people presenting with nerve damage following consumption of so-called laughing gas. The more immediate impacts on the youths who use it in a social setting include numbness in their extremities, balance issues, increased heart rate and frostbite. Longer term there is real concern about its impact on the mental health of adolescents. The damage it does can be severe. Excessive use blocks the development of the coating that protects nerves and can lead to spinal cord damage. The aims of the Bill are straightforward and focus on the protection of our young people. It aims to make it hard for the product to be purchased by under 18-year-olds. Criminal gangs are aware of the profits they can make from selling this product. They are purchasing it in bulk cheaply and selling it for a profit to young people. It is an attractive product for younger people to use as it provides a high for up to 45 minutes and is less expensive than alcohol. The sale and supply of this product is not a niche problem. During a recent "Prime Time" programme, Revenue noted that they are seizing more than 1,000 large canisters per week. Thomas Talbot, who leads the Revenue criminal investigation function said that organised crime is making money on the back of society. While I am talking about organised crime, in Limerick we are in a battle against the criminal gangs, which we are unfortunately not winning. This was cruelly seen over the weekend in the Ballincurra Weston, Garryowen and St. Mary's Park areas with shootings, petrol bombs and other attacks on homes, properties and cars. I ask the Minister to speak with the Garda Commissioner about this issue, because we have a massive problem in Limerick, and I am concerned people will be killed.

Here we go again. The Government has decided to kick the can down the road on a common-sense Bill. It knows there is no way that anybody would oppose this Bill so instead it decided to delay it by nine months. Government talks about all of us working together. Yet here we have a positive piece of work and instead of supporting it going to Committee Stage and teasing out any of the issues he has, the Minister has decided to delay it. In my constituency, the use of nitrous oxide by teenagers has been an ongoing problem since way before the pandemic. Football and GAA teams have to show up early to clear their pitches of canisters, in some cases boxes of them, before a match can kick off. It is the same with our playgrounds. Parents are going to playgrounds to clean them up. The reason the use of this drug has increased so much is it is cheap, and users and sellers face little risk under the law. Anybody can go online and order a crate of it, then resell these canisters individually and make a tidy profit. This Bill cuts out all that. Anybody wanting to sell it wholesale will need a licence. Anybody selling it via retail will need to be on a register of approved sellers. The other rules in the Bill are similar to those for alcohol. The person purchasing and the person selling it will have to be over 18, and it allows gardaí to seize canisters from anybody they suspect is under the age of 18. It is simple. We all know that nitrous oxide misuse is not low risk when it comes to a person's health. We see people who use it suffering serious nerve damage, neurological conditions, seizures and much more. This Bill provides a common-sense way forward. Instead of criminalising these young people who are using it, the Bill will regulate the sale and make it much more difficult for it be misused. There is no legitimate reason for a teenager to be using this. There is none, so please let us get working on this Bill.

I commend my colleague Teachta Ward, not only on the work he has done recently but over the past number of years. This is not work that has been done over the past two months. A lot of time and effort has been invested in it. We are all aware that nitrous oxide has become a scourge in all of our communities. Our young people are being put at serious risk by people who are making profit out of children's health. I have met with community and support groups and been contacted by members of the public across my area of Fingal East who are coming across discarded canisters outside schools and playgrounds and on football pitches where young people are. They are just discarded on the road. I went out of my house to the green area across the road and picked up 15 canisters last weekend. That was just on a green space outside my house. Every time our Tidy Towns and other volunteering groups are collecting litter, they are cleaning up bag loads of canisters all over the place. It is not only a public health issue, but an environmental challenge. Sinn Féin's Bill is a solutions-based common-sense approach. I urge the Minister to reconsider, withdraw his amendment and not delay this by nine months. How many more children's lives will be affected in a nine-month period? We are delaying dealing with the issues just to tie it up. They could be dealt with on Committee Stage. The Minister mentioned this himself. Every time our young people use this gas they are playing Russian roulette with their health and with their lives. We need to deal with it, and we need to deal with it now. The Bill covers the sale of nitrous oxide from abroad. It deals with where it should be despatched within the State. This would require wholesalers to have a licence to sell this gas and related products. Retailers would also have to be on an approved register to sell related products. It would be illegal to sell to under 18s. It would be illegal to have under 18s sell the products even if it is on a licensed premises, in the same way as it is for them to sell alcohol. The Bill will allow gardaí to seize the nitrous oxide if they believe the person is under 18 or if the person is to use it as an intoxicant. These canisters can then be disposed of or destroyed properly. I heard stories over Hallowe'en where they have been flung into fires and were going off like missiles. There are loads of addendums to this that need to be dealt with. At the moment it is urgency. It is about our children's lives. We need to look after it. I call on the Minister to withdraw his amendment, to look at this and deal with it in the manner it needs to be, as quickly and urgently as possible.

Before the Minister leaves, I commend Deputy Ward on this Bill. This should have been brought in years ago. The issues with nitrous oxide, otherwise known as laughing gas to the common man and woman, have been causing damage for years. However, what has happened in recent years is that it has become a component of criminal activity. I am sorry, but the large-scale canisters have little use in this country in the professions the Minister spoke about. While I understand, in fairness to him, that on other occasions he has not opposed different legislation being brought in by the Opposition and let it go through, I cannot for the life of me think why he would not do the same here. This Bill may not be perfect, but certainly it is worthy of going to Committee Stage where he can bring in all of the amendments he wants. I do not understand the following: we know this issue has to be addressed, and he says he needs nine months to consider it. Why has his Department not been considering it before this? It is glaringly obvious that this issue has to be dealt with. I know the Minister has had a lot of change in his Department and has a whole range of issues coming over from the Department of children, but surely within the relevant section his officials knew this was an issue. I think the Minister's response is downright lazy. It is lazy. It is also lazy from his Department to take nine months. If I was in the Minister's shoes, I would think that this is a pretty simple Bill to draft. He goes on about regulation and how the gardaí would enforce this, etc. They are all pretty minor things that could be dealt with on Committee Stage. Why will the Minister not let the Bill through? Why can he not ensure, through working positively with the Opposition, that we deal with these issues on Committee Stage and protect our young people? I presume this will take more than nine months. If any situations happen within the next nine months, if serious incidents or accidents happen or, dare I say, if a death occurs because of this, we may replay this back to the Minister. This issue is glaringly obvious. It is not complicated. It has to be dealt with. We all know there are uses for this in catering, healthcare and a range of other things. What is going on now is you walk through any estate in every part of Ireland and you will find these canisters. The canisters are being brought into areas by criminals who are selling them. They are then distributed and young children are using them. There are a whole range of neurological impacts from them, which have been outlined by many Deputies already. I have heard stories in my own office in relation to people who have been pretty severely affected with severe burns as a consequence because they do not know what they are doing. There are addiction elements and a whole range of other elements. All of this is avoidable, if we had the regulatory process in place, if we had the licensing in place and if we had the enforcement capacity in place to allow gardaí to do their job. I have had gardaí speak to me about this. It has been raised with me that in particular parts of my constituency, the volume of it coming in is quite extraordinary. I am from rural Tipperary. We have a lot of towns, but still. It is at that extreme where young kids are going out at night or at weekend and using this. We are not necessarily talking about those who are involved in other activities later on when they are 17 or 18; we are talking about children who are 13, 14 or 15 years of age. I am really disappointed in the Department and the Minister because this is not something we should be having any form of political toing and froing on. This can be dealt with quickly. As someone who I think has the potential to change his mind for the right reason on the floor of the Dáil, I urge him to do so. If Sinn Féin had not brought in this Bill, we probably would have brought it in, to be honest. I encourage the Minister to accept it and not take the run-of-the-mill action whereby he just signs off on it and leaves it be because it is downright lazy. It is not good enough. I think the Minister is better than that. I think he has the capacity to deal with this very quickly through the various Stages of the Bill whether it is Committee Stage or Report Stage. This would ensure that the children of Ireland are not left open to this and do not have the opportunity to use this, that those who are involved in this at a criminal level have the legs taken out from them, that gardaí are empowered to seize these within reasonable reason in relation to what they are used for and that the law will protect that decision making. It would also ensure that communities across Ireland do not have the spectre of Tidy Towns groups going around every weekend picking these up canisters all over the place. From a healthcare point of view, it would ensure we do not have situations whereby every weekend if you go into University Hospital Limerick, South Tipperary General Hospital or many other model 3 or 4 hospitals across the country you will have a range of children, in particular, who will have burns on their faces and hands because of the misuse of this substance. There are also neurological and reproductive issues because of this. I ask the Minister to do the right thing. This Bill is not perfect and I do not think Deputy Ward said it was perfect, but it deserves to go to Committee Stage. I expect the Government to change its mind and do the right thing. We can all work on it then and at least it will be in the process of being legislated for and will give hope to people who know this is the right thing to do.

Of course, the Social Democrats are going to support this Bill, but I first want to commend Deputy Mark Ward on having the diligence to bring forth such a comprehensive Bill. I also commend the heart he brings to this issue. We are supporting this Bill because quite clearly nitrous oxide misuse has become visible in too many communities because of the current free-for-all around access, particularly for children and teenagers. It is quite simply not good enough and is actually worse than not good enough. It is also the case - this was captured in the Minister's opening contribution - that the sale of nitrous oxide is already illegal under the psychotic substances Act and is already provided for under the children's Act. That screams another larger question, does it not? When I go up to watch a local football team on a Sunday morning, go for a walk through town or bring my dog for a walk in the morning, I see these canisters everywhere. We have heard stories - I know people talk to me about it in the constituency - and we have heard media reports about how many young people are consuming these poisonous products. We have also heard about the damage that is being caused, but I do not think one single shop has been convicted for the sale of these products. The Minister talked earlier about the illegality of these products, but there is a big flashing warning sign that despite how prevalent they are in front of our eyes, there is no enforcement. Deputy Ward has been told that the House will come back to it in nine months. However, as I support the Bill, I will support it honestly and not just simply as a box-ticking exercise because it will not be legislation on its own that will solve what people are seeing in our streets, parks and outside schools. The reality is that nitrous oxide admittedly exists in an awkward place. It is a legitimate product with lawful uses in healthcare and food preparation but it is very clearly being exploited and used as a harmful intoxicant. That is why I do not believe blunt criminalisation would work in this instance and it is very welcome that Deputy Ward is not going down this road. Doing nothing is also a choice, and that choice has left families and local communities feeling like the State has been absent. They will hear tonight that we are doing nothing for a further nine months and then for whatever time after that. At its core, the legislation introduces a licensing and regulatory system. Wholesales must be licensed and retailers must be registered. That is the spine of the Bill. There does not seem to be anything controversial in there to me. It simply brings visibility to who is selling nitrous oxide, from where and on what basis. It restricts sales to exempt purchasers only: people in businesses with legitimate reasons to buy nitrous oxide including medical professionals and food and catering businesses. It introduces a clear prohibition on sales to under 18s, including online sales and proxy purchasing. It also gives gardaí powers to seize nitrous oxide in public spaces where there are reasonable grounds to believe it is being used as an intoxicant alongside search, disposal and enforcement provision. Those are very meaningful steps. On an issue like this, clarity would be very helpful for all involved, especially the gardaí. It also very clearly matters to communities and to parents. I want to put something on the record that goes beyond this product because nitrous oxide does not exist in a vacuum. What people are experiencing in our communities is not just littered canisters; it is the normalisation of drug use and the presence of informal supply chains. In many areas, drug-related intimidation is making daily life not just unsafe but also unbearable. Families see who controls the spaces, young people know who supplies what and the State often arrives late or very rarely at all in some instances. The hardest part is addressing the demand, the culture and the perception of harm or lack thereof. Nitrous oxide is still treated by many as harmless fun when we simply know that is not true. The neurological damage, the emergency presentation and the long-term harm are very real and very terrifying. Schools are often dealing with this without supports, and parents are dealing with it without the answers from the State. I support bringing order to the supply chain, but I will not pretend this Bill creates the education, prevention or treatment pathways to make that regulation stick. That is where the wider failure in the drugs policy becomes impossible to ignore. I am the Chair of the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Drug Use. This committee was established to ensure our drugs policy is evidence-based, health-led and effective. Yet, as we stand here today, the committee is still waiting patiently for a copy of the national drugs strategy. In fact, we have asked and we have had very little contact from the Department as to when we will see a copy of that document, which is really important to the work of all of us. I would like to see some urgency and some leadership in this area that reflects the scale of the crisis that our communities are living with the length and breadth of Ireland. If the drugs trade is at the heart of intimidation, harm and exploitation in our communities, and it very much is, then we cannot keep treating drugs policy as something to be parked or delayed for a further nine months. This Bill very clearly shows what happens when urgency exists. Deputy Mark Ward has brought a very comprehensive Bill through two Stages now. It would be very worthwhile for us to explore this at the justice committee. I do not see what harm would come from allowing it to pass. On awareness, we also need to be honest about awareness campaigns. Awareness is a word we reach for when we do not want to fund services. Everyone says they want awareness campaigns but awareness is not automatically effective and is not automatically harmless either. There is strong emerging research that shows that poorly designed universal, skill-based interventions can lead to unintended harms, including increased anxiety and reduced well-being for some young people. That matters because if we charge into schools with a one-size-fits-all message, we risk failing to change behaviour while also increasing distress and poor-quality information. I want the State to intervene in the concept of awareness but I want it to do so in an evidence-based way. It must be properly co-designed with young people, targeted where needed, linked with real supports and evaluated honestly and consistently. A licensing and regulation system will only work if the body running it is properly resourced. This Bill allows for a licensing authority to be designated and I think at a committee level we could explore how that would work, what enforcement capacity it would have and how best compliance would be monitored at scale. The online market is another challenge. While the Bill addresses remote sales, the reality is that young people access products through platforms, social media and delivery routes that are notoriously difficult to police. Without serious work on platform accountability, customs controls and age verification standards that actually work, we risk displacing supply rather than stopping it. Displacement is a familiar pattern in drugs policy. If we restrict one product without building a prevention and support mechanism, the use simply shifts elsewhere. That is not a reason to do nothing, but it is a reason to ensure supply control is part of a health-led strategy and not a substitute for one. Seizure powers can also cut both ways. If they are used proportionally, they can and should prevent harm. If they are used bluntly, they can deepen it. If the only interaction a young person has with the State is a form of worthy confiscation on the part of An Garda Síochána, with the subsequent humiliation that comes with it, we risk entrenching disengagement rather than reducing harm. Enforcement must be paired with diversion, youth services and family supports. We will of course be supporting the Bill, but supporting it should mean supporting it as a foundation, not as a finished product. If this was allowed to progress to Committee Stage - I see no justifiable reason it should not - what we could be exploring at Committee Stage would be stronger traceability and record keeping, meaningful online age verification standards, sensible product capacity restrictions and a statutory link to health and education so that prevention is not left to those who are demonstrating improvisation in their schools and communities in the absence of State support. Above all, it should mean real resources because a register without enforcement is just a spreadsheet, and seizure power without follow-through is often just a headline. I assure the families and communities who I know will be watching debates such as this with interest that they are very clearly not imagining what they are seeing. They are seeing the effects of a drugs trade that is embedded, adaptive and too often unchecked. Too often communities are told that they have laws, as we were told earlier, but then they wonder why they never seem to be enforced. I support the Bill. I absolutely commend Deputy Ward on the work he has done in bringing it forward, I will be asking the Government to simply allow it to pass. I do not have much expectation because all too frequently during these nine months the Opposition brings forward a Bill and then on a Tuesday or Wednesday the Taoiseach will tell us that we do not bring forward any ideas. On Thursday the drugs committee will also be exploring the area of nitrous oxide and aerosol abuse and we look forward to scrutinising different areas of expertise within that also.

Like my other colleagues around the House and from the Government benches as well, I want to congratulate Deputy Ward on this Bill, which is well put together. I accept, as the Minister said, that a little bit of tweaking here and there and a little bit of change to X, Y and Z needs to be done. That could be achieved by leaving this Bill go forward to Committee Stage. I cannot help but think there is a bit of politics being played here tonight. As a previous speaker said, we are being berated here by a Government Minister who is telling us to come up with our own legislation and come up with a new plan. In fairness, we are putting new plans together all the time. We are putting forward new legislation. We are submitting ideas to the House. We are giving information to the House and providing credible opposition. Something we are all united on - the voices around the House have been all united tonight - is that there is a serious problem with nitrous oxide. I am familiar with this product because I used it in my catering business and in my bar and restaurant business. I am familiar with the size of it. It amazes me now when I see these products coming online. I used to buy the silver bullets in packs of ten which cost about €14.95 to buy for a catering business. I used to buy it from Musgraves or MP O'Sullivans and I would use that. Those in the medical profession would use the very large canisters. There is no need for the super-sized canisters that we are now finding in football and GAA pitches, in housing estates and on the edge of the road. Whether we are in Cork, Dublin, Limerick, Waterford or Galway, we are finding them everywhere. Every Tidy Towns committee is saying the same thing. The other thing that has not been addressed in this House is that when nitrous oxide canisters are put into incinerators, they cause huge damage across the country. Nobody is mentioning that. This is a serious problem that has been noted in the Dublin incineration plans. It is causing litter problems and damage to incinerators. As we all know in this House, nitrous oxide is just one of the issues. We have head shops in Cork city, Limerick city, Galway city and Dublin city. These head shops are selling legal highs. The nitrous oxide and the other items sold in head shops, are, to my mind, the gateway drugs of today. Kids are starting off as young as 12, 13 or 14 and being introduced to this. Years ago we used to hear stories of sniffing bags of glue. Now it is filling up a balloon and sniffing this laughing gas. It is a small way of getting into illegal highs, but what is next? Is it going to be marijuana in a year's time? Is it going to be cocaine? We all know this is readily available. We all know the types of characters that are supplying this. They are buying it from wholesalers or directly importing it on Amazon or from companies in China. They are buying large amounts of this, bringing it into the country and selling it directly, sometimes for three, four or ten times the price of what an ordinary bullet would actually cost. On the proposed legislation and how it has been put together, what the Government has said is very minute. The Government is saying it will wait for Europe. Why is Ireland not taking a lead on this? Why are we not the leading country on this? Why do we have to wait? For example, why did we have to wait for Ciaran Mullooly in Europe recently to head the charge on Mercosur? The Government stayed quiet. The Taoiseach was saying one thing in China and Fianna Fáil TDs were saying something else in the background. Here we are again, waiting for the almighty masters of Europe to tell us what to do. Why are we not taking charge of this ourselves? That is what we are meant to be doing. If we continue to respond by saying we have to wait for the European legislation to come in, this House is superfluous. There is no point in being in this House. There is no point in writing Irish legislation if we are going to be waiting for that. I have to say I am very disappointed. It seems to me that we are playing politics. I would like the Government to reverse this decision, as Deputy Alan Kelly has said. There is no shame in changing your mind at the eleventh hour when the idea is right. Leave it go to Committee Stage and leave us add extras such as the head shops. If we legislate to protect our young people, we can stop this.

I support fully this Bill by my Sinn Féin constituency colleague, Deputy Mark Ward. In terms of its efforts to restrict the sale, possession and supply of nitrous oxide products, it has added to the whole debate. It should absolutely be lauded. In that context, while I take on board what the Minister, Deputy O'Callaghan, said about EU legislation and having to give notice and having to look at the legislation because it was seen only in the past while, we know that Second Stage Bills coming from Opposition parties cannot proceed to Committee and Report Stages unless the Government facilitates that in any event. There is a lot of time, even up to nine months, that could have been used to prepare the Bill for the next Stage and have that proper debate, so I do not see the excuse as being particularly valid. I do take on board what the Minister said about the existing legislation that makes it an offence to sell nitrous oxide if it is for unpermitted use as a drug product. The question I ask there is that if that is the case, how come that legislation has not been enforced to the extent we would like it to be enforced over the past ten years? That is a question that has not been answered. If this legislation, as proposed, makes it a little heavier and puts greater onus on the supply chain, it can only be a good thing. There is the question, as others have mentioned, if this were to go through tomorrow, no matter what way it were to be amended, as to whether the Garda has the resources to follow up. Will the inspection authority have the resources to follow it up and prosecute where required? These are questions that have not been answered. There is a wider issue as well, as Deputy Gannon and others have referred to. I go back to one of the comments made by one of the Sinn Féin contributors, who quoted Ciara Murphy, project leader at the Finglas youth service, who highlighted on "Prime Time" how the price of alcohol is actually driving the use of nitrous oxide. If anything, that should be seen as a slight positive in the sense that alcohol still causes a significantly higher number of deaths among young people than nitrous oxide. Alcohol is one of the biggest risk factors for death and disability in 15-to-24-year-olds in Ireland, and one in four deaths of young men aged 15 to 34 is directly related to alcohol. With 50,000 children starting to drink in Ireland every year, anything we can do legislatively through the pricing mechanism - the minimum price, etc. - is a good thing. Almost 50% of young driver fatalities - I am going back now because I do not have the up-to-date legislation - from 2013 to 2017 had toxicology for alcohol. More recently, we have toxicology for drugs as well. Nitrous oxide usage is a growing public health concern. I and my team, when we go around, are picking canisters up left, right and centre. We have been told by the local authority that you can put them into domestic bins. Where they go after the domestic bins, however, is definitely another question because they can cause safety hazards for workers sifting through that rubbish, so it is better to bring them to recycling centres. I mentioned the other day, in relation to nitrous oxide but during debate on the vaping legislation, that there is a different angle in terms of the storage, supply and monitoring from a safety and environmental perspective in relation to nitrous oxide canisters. Tonight is not the time to digress too much in that regard but we have all seen them all over the place causing a blight on our landscape, so it is not just the numerous health issues, for young people in particular, but also the environmental damage. The environmental aspect needs to be brought back. I will talk for a second about the issue of the addiction in general. I note that this legislation deliberately, and rightly, seeks not to criminalise young people for possession of nitrous oxide canisters but no more than people caught with bottles of vodka or bottles of gin, there seems to be no mechanism for intervening from a public health perspective. When we had some of the debates at local authority and national levels about decriminalisation of cannabis, for example, the Portuguese model was often cited where it was seen as a health issue. In the context of this, I am not sure about the technical nature of this proposed legislation or if it can be worked in here but if people are caught in possession of nitrous oxide canisters, or indeed bottles of alcohol, it should be recorded, not as a criminal offence but to ensure that there is some form of intervention, whether it is through youth services, an education programme or some sort of mental health service, depending on whether the community gardaí are involved and know the individuals concerned. Too often, addiction spreads out. It covers a multitude. This just happens to be the addiction of choice for a lot of people in the current age. If we clamp down on this, they will find something else. There was an incident recently involving a poor young lad in relation to aerosol usage, for example. No matter what, people will try to find ways to get that buzz. It is the why people want to get that buzz as well as the how people want to get that buzz that needs to be tackled in the wider context. I am not trying to say, "There are other issues we need to look at; therefore, this Bill is not important." This Bill is extremely important. It needs to be brought to Committee Stage as soon as possible so we can have a proper debate on it. I thank my constituency colleague, Deputy Ward, along with other colleagues and the service who worked with him on this, for bringing it forward because it is very useful legislation. That has to be recognised.

I thank Deputy Ward for making us all aware of this. If anyone thinks I knew anything about nitrous gas or laughing gas or whatever it is, I did not. I can understand now, since it has been explained to me, its disastrous effect. It can seriously impair youngsters. Perhaps the Bill will do nothing but make parents aware and make us all more aware. I was listening to the Minister. Apparently, he does not have the legislation he wants to put in place ready yet. He says this is being covered by other rules or other regulations and is covered in a different way, but I would like to see more stringent controls and awareness for youngsters who may be inclined to seek this buzz, like Deputy Gogarty said, or whatever it is. Youngsters, being youngsters, will try different things at different points in time. It is good that we have this talk and that legislation will be put in place in the short term. I will ask the Minister to expedite this. He said it would be nine months. I would like to have it put in place maybe in three or four months' time. We are talking about human life. When something happens in human life and if people die, they cannot be brought back, so there is urgency. As I said at the outset, I know little about this. I am thankful for being made aware of it. I hope that we will all work together and ensure that proper legislation is brought forward to deal with it. I appeal to the Minister of State, Deputy Murnane O'Connor, to ensure we get the answer and the legislation we need to curb this. As well as that, I would like people to be made more aware of this. I thought I knew a lot. I am on the road every day and night and out everywhere but I never heard of this nitrous gas before. That is how it is. I am thankful for the opportunity to talk about this. I will vote for legislation when it is brought forward. I know Sinn Féin would like to have this brought forward now but I am honest, and maybe there is more to be looked at. We will give the Minister the chance to do that.

I move amendment No. 1: To delete all words after "That" and substitute the following: "Dáil Éireann resolves that the Sale of Nitrous Oxide and Related Products Bill 2025 be deemed to be read a second time this day nine months.". Following on from my colleague, the Minister, Deputy Jim O'Callaghan's earlier remarks, I too commend the Deputies on their Bill, which attempts to address the scourge of nitrous oxide misuse and its damaging effects on public health, communities and young people in particular. While we share the aim and acknowledge the intentions behind the Bill, the Government is not convinced that this approach is the correct way of achieving it. However, I commend Deputies on their willingness to explore solutions to this problem. In my role as Minister of State with responsibility for the national drugs strategy, one of my main priorities is to respond to emerging trends and to reduce the harm caused by misuse of substances. Prevention and awareness are crucial, which was brought up tonight. I am mindful of that in helping our young people as they navigate a society where the drugs and substance situation is evolving. I know we spoke about the drugs strategy. We have not had a drugs strategy in ten years. It is nearly ready. I should have it in the next few days for the committee. Everything is changing all the time. It is important that we are ahead of this, how we look at it and how we get the right solutions. I am also conscious that there is a major environmental problem with the disposal of the canisters, which are seen littering many of our towns and villages. The HSE continues to monitor the use of nitrous oxide, which is commonly known as laughing gas. As other speakers have said, it is most commonly known as laughing gas. It is important to tailor appropriate and targeted messages. Targeted advertisements are shared every few weeks on the topic of nitrous oxide with audiences over the age of 18 as well as messages which aim to create awareness of long-term use and signs of concern which people can look out for. There is awareness. We need to look again at whether we need to adjust it and how we work on that but there is awareness and it is important that we get that message out. The European Union Drugs Agency has conducted an EU-wide review of nitrous oxide and it highlighted several key issues regarding the prevention of use, including the role of youth workers, targeted distribution of messages, and the role of parents. In line with the EU Drugs Agency's recommendations, the HSE continues to provide a targeted approach, working together with drug and alcohol task forces around the country. We have 24 task forces. I know and value their work. This is important. Parents are offered information on nitrous oxide by the HSE in various formats. It is important that they are well informed. Specific information is available on drugs.ie and through a parent fact sheet. The HSE has developed a harm reduction fact sheet. It is including the risks, effects and harm reduction advice. These fact sheets have been distributed to the drug and alcohol task forces, student unions, at festivals, and to third level institutions. Social media channels and drugs.ie provide nitrous oxide content that is informative, helpful and shareable. The HSE social media team responds directly to people's questions about substances, including nitrous oxide, through direct messaging on all channels. The HSE's social media posts also drive web traffic to its dedicated content on drugs.ie. I know that we need to do more. That is why the Minister, Deputy O'Callaghan, and I are saying this. We will work with Deputies on it. Strengthening the prevention of drug and alcohol use among children and young people is a strategic priority under the national drugs strategy. Some €1.5 million has been allocated in my Department for a three-year drug and alcohol prevention and education programme which aims to strengthen the prevention of drug and alcohol use and related harm among children and young people. We know that the challenge of regulating nitrous oxide cuts across multiple Departments and existing laws. It is a public health issue for my Department and the HSE. It is a public order issue for the Department of justice and An Garda Síochána. I also commend the work of Revenue in tackling the illegal importation of nitrous oxide at our ports. That is another area that we have to strengthen. I compliment it for its work. It is an environmental issue concerning hazardous waste disposal for the Department of the environment. It is a trade and enterprise issue for the Department of Enterprise, Tourism and Employment. As the Minister, Deputy O'Callaghan, outlined, there are important developments at EU level which must be considered carefully in our response. Given the number of Departments involved, it is important that we work together on this challenge. A coherent and consistent approach is therefore essential. These issues need to be considered in a broader context to ensure a more developed legislative policy and operational infrastructure that addresses the issues. I am conscious of the concerns of this House and among parents as we see increasing use of nitrous oxide and the evidence from doctors of the serious harm that it is causing. I know that it is worrying and that people are frustrated as they see companies flouting the law or advertising these substances. As Minister of State at the Department of Health, I am committed to protecting the health of our young people. I will be working with my Government colleagues on the best way to do this. As we saw the rise of HHC before it was banned, new trends are constantly emerging with serious consequences for health. I want to ensure that under our new national drugs strategy, which I will soon be bringing to Government, our health system is responsive and people can access the information and help they need. Where something like nitrous oxide is widely available and has many legitimate uses, such as catering and in the motor industry, preventing harm is difficult but I know that my Government colleagues share my determination. This has been a really useful debate and I thank the Deputies, particularly Deputy Mark Ward, who I have worked with for a long time. He and Deputy Seán Crowe have worked extremely hard on this. I see their concerns. I know we are putting it back by nine months but I know the Bill is important. The contributions, and steps the Deputies have taken, are really important. I know, like the Deputies, that these are life issues that are being discussed, which relate directly to public health, community safety, and our obligation to correctly comply with EU laws. The approach of the Government this evening reflects that. I believe that the timed amendment provides the necessary space for this analysis. I have heard Deputy Ward speak on this several times. I know his commitment. Working in my own remit in the Department of Health and on the drugs strategy, we see things changing all the time. I thank Deputy Ward.

Three and a half years ago, I raised during Questions on Policy or Legislation the use of nitrous oxide, also known as hippie crack, as recreational drug, and asked that the Government put in place legislation to regulate its sale. To date, this has not been done, and this Sinn Féin Bill, sponsored by my colleagues, Mark Ward and Seán Crowe, is a timely response to the Government's failure to put forward similar legislation. The use of nitrous oxide has become pervasive in many communities across Ireland, particularly among more economically disadvantaged communities. A number of years ago, it would not be uncommon to find large quantities of discarded small silver canisters along the footpaths of estates or around greens. These piles of small canisters are less commonly seen now and have been replaced by larger, fast gas canisters, which can be bought for as little as €20 or less. The hundreds of discarded canisters lying around estates, parks and rural areas pose an environmental hazard, particularly for wildlife, domestic pets and livestock. Those using this gas are putting their health at risk. Doctors have warned of the dangers of using the gas. It has caused neurological damage and can even cause frostbite burns, which can be so severe that some children using the gas have needed skin grafts, which has led to permanent scarring. The gas is released at sub-zero temperatures and if this is inhaled, it can cause severe injury to the mouth, throat and lungs, as well as potentially rupturing lung tissue. Emergency departments are increasingly seeing cases of young people showing progressive nerve damage in their arms and legs. The sheer volume of canisters that are being found in communities every day shows that they are far too easily accessible. There are even reports that children as young as ten are using the gas. The use of nitrous oxide as a recreational drug has now become a major public health issue. This is a gas whose intended use is for medical and industrial purposes. It should not be freely available for purchase by the general public. This Bill takes a common-sense approach whereby access to these gas canisters is regulated and only sold through licensed suppliers, thereby ensuring they only go to the people who are meant to have them. I urge the Government to support this Bill and help to safeguard our children and communities from this pervasive and harmful gas.

A number of years ago, I was on a clean-up of one of the parks in my constituency. It was a beautiful day. I remember looking down to the stream and I could see all these little silver canisters. I was aware it was really young people, children, who were actually using them. I coined the phrase "silver bullets" on the basis that these kids were basically playing Russian roulette. I came up with legislation and its aim was that, like cigarettes, this would be banned. I went to the Minister for children at the time, who was putting forward legislation. I met his officials and so on. Anyway, it was not a fit. I got the impression the people I was talking to did not really get the challenge being faced. At that time, the canisters were a different size. As was said, the canisters are now bigger. We have all seen them. It is not surprising that Deputy Danny Healy-Rae does not know about it because a lot of parents do not but they see these blue things at the side of the road. Deputy Mark Ward and I put our heads together then to try to decide how we would respond to it. One of the key things was that the children taking this thing should not be criminalised. That was the approach we wanted to take. I was also aware from the Garda of the challenges its members were facing. If they seized the drugs, technically, some of these people importing them could say it was for a legitimate use. One of the things I was told was that putting it on the drugs register would make it more difficult for them and they would actually have to prove it. As people said, the challenge nowadays is that there are so many young people doing this. It is really children. I am not talking about teenagers but about children who are using it. We have heard people talking about the impact it can have. They are literally risking their lives in relation to it. We have heard about some of the hospitals and adults and children presenting in relation to it. It has become very popular and people think it is safe. Others have spoken about the effects it can have on your brain or collapsed lungs, frostbite and so on. There is a whole range of things. A lot of the young people who are trying it are not particularly interested in that; they just want a legal high. It is so cheap, and, as someone said, it is a gateway. It is probably a gateway for some and probably the first drug they have ever used. I am appealing to the Minister of State. I do not care whose legislation goes forward. We need to do something in relation to this and we need to do it now. I am disappointed that the Government is adopting this approach. Collectively, though, we need to come together and sort this out.

I call Deputy Ward to conclude.

I just want to thank everyone who spoke in support of this Bill. I thank Deputy Crowe in particular because, in fairness to him, he did a hell of a lot of work on this Bill to make sure we protect the children and the end-user was not criminalised. I thank the other Opposition parties whose members spoke in support of the legislation, including the Labour Party, the Social Democrats, Independent Ireland and Deputy Paul Gogarty. As was said, this is a common-sense Bill and it should be allowed to go onto Committee Stage. Deputy Gannon, I think, said it is like a foundation that can be built on. I am not egotistical enough to think this Bill is absolutely perfect. I am willing to work with the Minister of State and the Government to improve it. I was bemused by the Minister, Deputy O'Callaghan. I thought I wrote his speech myself because he was making all the same points I was making. When I come in here to talk about a Bill, often there is clear blue water between the Government and the Opposition. There did not seem to be on this legislation. I cannot think of any legitimate reason, and I know a multitude of reasons was given, other than this is just a political decision not to pass this Bill. The Minister actually commended me on the legislation itself. What he did say, which does not wash with me, is that he only became aware of this Bill in the past week. I introduced this Bill in the last Dáil term, and then I reintroduced it as soon as I could in this Dáil, so this legislation has been ready to go to Second Stage for quite some time. Every chance I get when I am in this House, and the Minister of State herself will know this, I will raise this legislation. The Minister coming in here and saying he was not aware of the Bill simply does not wash. The Minister also mentioned there were several pieces of legislation already out there that should be working in relation to combating nitrous oxide. Walk down any park, street or stream, as Deputy Crowe said, and you will see discarded nitrous oxide canisters. It is not working. How many people have been convicted of selling nitrous oxide over the past number of years? I could not find anybody who has been convicted, so the legislation out there is not working. Regarding the EU issue and kicking this down the road until the EU comes in with its derogation in 2027, I said in my contribution that we are an independent, sovereign state. We should be making our own laws. We do not have to wait for the EU to come in with a law. Holland has done it already. It came out with legislation a couple of years ago, which was very similar to this. It is not waiting on the EU. We know how liberal that country is in relation to drug laws. If it is bringing legislation to tackle nitrous oxide, we know there is a problem. The financial burden on businesses was mentioned. There is no financial burden on businesses from this legislation. There is no cost for a licence. An application is made to the Minister for the licence and to be on the approved list of retailers. There is no cost to retailers or sellers who have a legitimate reason to use nitrous oxide. The Minister also mentioned the Garda having the powers to seize nitrous oxide not being in this Bill. If we turn to sections 6 and 11, section 6 will give the Garda the power to seize nitrous oxide canisters from people who it is believed intend to use it as an intoxicant. Section 11 of this Bill sets out the powers gardaí will have to enter and search properties they reasonably suspect are being used to sell nitrous oxide without a licence or to the non-exempted purchaser. I pay tribute to Joe who works in my office. Joe, myself and the OPLA worked on this legislation. I do not have a team of staff like the Minister has. I do not think he read the Bill if he did not see sections 6 and 11 that specifically work in relation to giving the Garda the right to seize nitrous oxide canisters. The Government often comes in here and criticises the Opposition for not bringing solutions. I am bringing in solutions. I was on "Prime Time" with the Minister of State a month ago and I offered her the Bill. She can take the Bill and call it a Government Bill. As Deputy Crowe said, I do not really care who brings this legislation in. The Clondalkin drug and alcohol task force has said children as young as 12 are using its service because of nitrous oxide use. Is it okay for those 12-year-olds to turn into 13-year-olds? This period of nine months does not make sense. I said I am willing to work with anyone on this legislation. No legislation is perfect. The Government brings forward amendments, and then it tables amendments to its own legislation, so do not criticise the Opposition for doing the same. I am willing to work with the Government, all parties and none, to bring this legislation in. At this stage, I will be asking the Minister of State to withdraw this amendment because I really do not think it is good enough. We are giving the Government a solution. We are giving it the answer. We are willing to work with it but it is kicking us down the road.

Hear, hear.

I thank the Deputy.

The division is postponed until the weekly division time tomorrow evening.