Vape shops are growing at an extraordinary rate across the country. Regional and small towns often have three or four popping up overnight. We all know that vape shops are targeting young people in terms of smell, their other senses and marketing. Some of these vape shops are located very close to schools and appeal very strongly to our young people. They are a huge concern. There appear to be no regulations that assist local authorities, the Department of Health or any other State agency to try to restrict the proliferation of vape shops in our country. I am asking the Minister to engage with us on this and try to restrict vape shops. I ask she Minister research the matter. I am also concerned with the lack of monitoring on this.

The Minister of State, Deputy Murnane O’Connor, brought legislation through the House to ban smells, flavours, colours and anything else that made nicotine addiction products more attractive to children. That has passed and gone to the President to be signed. That is an important part of this.

We are already in a conversation with local authorities in respect of the proliferation of vape shops, which are bad for public health in terms of the availability of vapes and which are not good for our towns and villages, given the proliferation of such disgusting shops. We are already in that space and would welcome the Deputy’s support for it.