Mayo senator in tobacco campaign victory

MAYO Senator Dr. Keith Swanick has wholeheartedly welcomed the announcement by the government that public investments in tobacco companies is being brought to an end.

As a result of questioning in Seanad Éireann, Senator Swanick was informed that the taxpayer, through the National Treasury Management Agency (NTMA) and the Ireland Strategic Investment Fund (ISIF) has equity holdings in three separate tobacco companies.

He brought a motion before Seanad Éireann which was passed unanimously in December and called on the government to immediately bring such investments to an end. At the time, Senator Swanick labelled these investments as morally untenable.

Senator Swanick said “In the two months since I first brought this issue up on the floor of Seanad Éireann a staggering 1,000 people in Ireland will have died from tobacco related diseases.

“Tobacco illness is the leading cause of preventable death in Ireland and the estimated cost of smoking on the health care system is more than €500 million per year. Department of Health data shows an average cost of €5,400 every time a smoker was admitted to hospital with a tobacco-related illness.

“In 2013 there were 31,000 such admissions at €5,400 per admission that equals a shocking €170 million. This does not include the primary or GP care costs and associated costs such as medication.”

“The announcement from the government to take this action is most welcome and means that the legislation which I had prepared with colleagues will no longer be required to end these investments.”