Harney proposes sunbeds crackdown

Health Minister Mary Harney today said she is to introduce comprehensive legislation to regulate the use of sunbeds, including banning their use by under-18s.

The legislation, entitled the Public Health (Sunbeds) Bill, will also prohibit the use of sunbeds in an unsupervised premises; require the placing of warning signs in sunbed premises and labels on the beds themselves and introduce penalties for non-compliance.

“I propose to submit a Memorandum to Government seeking approval to draft a Bill restricting the use of sunbeds along these lines by the end of June," Minister Harney said in a statement.

"Skin cancer is the most common type of cancer in Ireland and is a particular problem for Irish people because of their fair skin.

"The measures I am proposing to introduce are very much in keeping with the Government’s broader cancer control agenda."

The bill will take into account recommendations from a range of bodies including the World Health Organisation, the Irish Cancer Society, the Environmental Health Officers Association and the National Cancer Control Programme.