I am very glad to introduce this Bill to the Seanad. This House has taken considerable interest in preventive measures to contain the spread of AIDS since the recognition of the virus as a specific entity. There has been a number of motions on the topic the most recent of which was on 5 May this year when a motion put down by Senators Norris, Henry and O'Toole was debated. During that constructive and balanced debate the need for effective preventative programmes was stressed time and again. Speakers emphasised the necessity for a media campaign which would provide clear information for all sections of the community on how to avoid infection. They also expressed support for making condoms more easily available and for an expansion of the free needle exchange programme.
In the course of my colleague, the Minister of State at my Department, Deputy O'Dea's response to that debate, he outlined my commitment to developing an AIDS strategy which would be responsive to our needs. He set out the preventative programmes which were in place and outlined upcoming developments, including a multi-media campaign on HIV prevention which I have recently launched, and the developments in the risk reduction services in the drug abuse area. He also informed the House of the Government's decision to amend the Health (Family Planning) Acts to liberalise the availability of condoms and of my proposal to bring a new Bill in that regard before the Oireachtas.
The Senators are, of course, aware that all Stage of this Bill passed in the Dáil on 3 June following an incisive, interesting and constructive debate which was massively supportive of the proposed changes in the existing legislation. I am pleased, therefore, to commend this Bill to an Seanad and I am glad of the opportunity to remind the House of the reasons the Bill is before it today.
The two main elements for an effective programme to prevent the spread of the AIDS virus are proper and non-moralistic programmes of education directed at the various sections of the community and legislation to remove the restrictions on the purchase of condoms. On 24 May I launched the new AIDS media campaign which deals in a clear, unambiguous fashion with the role of the condom in preventing HIV. This campaign is directed at all sexually active people. It is complemented by other measures aimed at various groups within the community, such as drug abusers.
The Bill before the House is clear in its content and its intent. It provides for greater access to condoms at a time when there is clear evidence that they are an effective barrier against the spread of HIV. I am very pleased, therefore, to bring the legislation before the Seanad. It demonstrates both my commitment and that of the Government to rationalise family planning legislation initially in so far as this is required for public health reasons but ultimately in regard to all family planning issues. I propose to look at the broader issue of family planning as part of an overall strategy for health which is currently being developed in the Department of Health and which I hope to have completed before the end of this year.
As my Minister of State, Deputy O'Dea, outlined on 5 May, the Bill is necessary for public health reasons as it is a means of tackling the problems of HIV/AIDS, and indeed, other diseases which are sexually transmitted. In Ireland, we have an increasing number of persons who are testing positive for HIV. To date, a total of 1,375 persons have tested positive and it is accepted that this figure understates the true situation.
We extended the HIV surveillance programme in October 1992 to include the analysis of blood, on an anonymous, unlinked basis, which is taken at antenatal clinics for routine clinical purposes and which is surplus to requirements. We propose to extend the programme, on a phased basis, to include blood taken at STD clinics and hospital in-patient and out-patient clinics in an effort to develop as comprehensive a picture as possible of the prevalence and spread of the infection in Ireland. I am not satisfied that the current data available gives me that comprehensive picture.
Our current data base indicates that the infection is largely present in certain groups of the population — intravenous drug users, homosexuals, haemophiliacs and, to a lesser extent, in heterosexuals. In the latter, there is a steady presence of new HIV positive cases. There is no cure for AIDS. We must make a concentrated effort, therefore, to ensure that those who are not infected remain so and to ensure that those who have contracted the virus do not transmit it to others.
People generally are now aware that the main routes of transmission are through sexual intercourse or through sharing needles while abusing intravenous drugs. Even though they are aware of these facts many, nonetheless, continue to put themselves at risk of exposure to the virus. We must encourage these people to behave in ways which will reduce or eliminate this risk. We know that the surest way of avoiding sexually transmitted HIV infection is by being faithful to one person who is also faithful to you, assuming that neither person has shared needles while injecting drugs. However, there are sexually active people who do not adhere to these guidelines for behaviour and they must be encouraged to behave responsibly. Our National AIDS Strategy places a strong emphasis on primary and secondary prevention.
Our primary prevention programmes are designed to prevent persons from becoming infected in the first place and education and information are key components in HIV/AIDS primary prevention programmes. So, too, is easy access to condoms.
Our secondary prevention programmes are aimed at preventing the transmission from an infected person to persons who are not infected and this is implemented through risk-reduction services, such as Outreach, methadone availability, needle exchange, condoms and counselling. In programmes to prevent HIV, and other sexually transmissible diseases, it is recognised and accepted that a good quality condom, properly used, is the most effective prophylactic against these diseases. It is essential, therefore, that people be aware of the role of condoms as an effective prophylactic and that sexually active persons are not discouraged from using them by restrictions placed on their availability.
The main purpose of the Bill, therefore, is to provide for improved access to condoms, as a necessary and practical response to the evolving HIV/AIDS problem here. The Bill implements the recommendations of the National AIDS Strategy Committee, which called for the supply of condoms through vending machines. It also bring us into line with public mores and thinking in Ireland and with the situation in other EC member states, where condoms are supplied through vending machines. I would point out to the Senators that the most recent survey of public opinion on this matter in the Sunday Press a fortnight ago showed a huge majority in favour of this legislation and this is heartening to note.
The Bill provides for the amendment of the Health (Family Planning) Act, 1979, which is the Principal Act, and for the amendment of the Health (Family Planning) Amendment Act, 1992, as follows: (i) the removal of controls over the supply of condoms; (ii) the exclusion of condoms from the definition of contraceptive; and (iii) the provision of enabling powers to the Minister for Health to regulate the location of vending machines for condoms and to prescribe standards for them. I am also taking the opportunity, in the Bill, to remove the licensing requirements to import and manufacture other contraceptives.
Section 1 of the Bill defines "contraceptive sheath" to include condoms for men and women. Senators will recall that the position under the legislation of the female condom was raised by me during the Oireachtas debates last year. I have included the female condom in the definition of "contraceptive sheath" under section 2 of this Bill to ensure that it is excluded from the legal controls. Section 2 amends the definition of "contraceptive" to exclude condoms, thereby removing the controls over their sale and supply altogether.
As a result of the exclusion of condoms from the definition of contraceptive under section 2, I am proposing, in section 8 of the Bill, to repeal sections 5 and 6 of the Health (Family Planning) (Amendment) Act, 1992. These are necessary and consequential on the proposed new definition. The effect of this will be to remove the controls in section 5 of the 1992 Act, which prohibited the sale or supply of condoms to persons aged under 17 years, or from certain outlets, such as vending machines, mobile outlets or street vendors. It will also remove the controls contained in section 6 of the Act relating to the age limit of 17 years of persons to whom condoms could be supplied for resale. I consider the amendment of the definition of "contraceptive" and the consequent removal of the control over condoms arising from this and the repeal of section 5 of the 1992 Act as being extremely important developments, not alone in the fight against HIV/AIDS, but also towards ensuring that the State is now retreating from unnecessary intrusion into the private lives of its citizens.
In the context of HIV/AIDS, these proposed amendments and repeals are fundamental and essential. The attempts in the 1992 Act to liberalise the availability of condoms has simply transferred their supply from one type of supervised sale to another. They did not result in a realistic, practical or effective approach to HIV prevention. It is reasonable to assume that the supply of condoms through vending machines will provide that degree of privacy to encourage sexually active persons who require the protection of condoms to avail of them and thus protect themselves and their partners from exposure to disease and infection.
The Government was mindful, however, of the possible adverse consequences of removing the controls contained in the 1992 Act and have decided to include in the Bill a provision in section 3, which would enable the Minister for Health, if it was deemed necessary, to prohibit by regulations, the sale of condoms in places which could be considered to be inappropriate and a provision in section 4, which would enable the Minister to prescribe, by regulations, standards for condoms.
Section 3 might be required in the event of a proliferation of vending machines in, for example, places where very young persons congregate or in certain locations in main streets. The expectation is, however, that the removal of the controls in section 5 of the 1992 Act, will lead to the location of such machines in appropriate internal locations, to the extent that inappropriate internal or external locations may not arise and I do not believe it will be necessary for me to utilise the powers to regulate locations. Section 3 (3) provides that a person who contravenes this section will be guilty of an offence.
Section 4 provides an enabling power to the Minister for Health to prescribe standards for condoms. This provision is necessary to safeguard against the supply here of condoms which do not meet a recognised standard.
CEN — the European Committee for Standardization — has drafted standards for latex rubber male condoms. It is expected that the draft standards will be finalised and adopted later this year as a European standard, which will then become our national standard. In the meantime, I propose to recognise, in regulations, a recognised standard of an EC member state or condoms of an equivalent standard as being suitable for sale here.
Subsection (2) of the section provides that a person may not sell or supply contraceptive sheaths which do not comply with the standards. Subsection (3) provides that a person who contravenes subsection (2) will be guilty of an offence.
Section 5 of the Bill provides for technical amendments to the 1992 Act. It provides for the deletion of the phrase "in accordance with section 3 (3) of the Principal Act" in section 4 (1) (b) (i) (iv) of the Act of 1992. This is necessary as section 3 of the 1979 Act was repealed by the Act of 1992. This section also provides for the amendment of paragraph (c) of section 4 (1) of the Act of 1992. This is consequential and will be self-evident, on the repeal of sections 5 and 6 of the principal Act under section 8 of the Bill. I will refer to section 8 later.
Section 4 of the Act of 1992 sets out the list of persons who may sell contraceptives. That section provides in general terms, that contraceptives may be sold by pharmacists, registered medical practitioners, employees of health boards, family planning services and employees of hospitals. It also provides for the sale of contraceptives by a licensed importer or manufacturer to the persons I have mentioned.
Section 8 of the Bill is designed also to remove the licensing requirements to import and manufacture contraceptives, other than condoms, by repealing section 5 and 6 of the 1979 Act. As a result, paragraph (c) of section 4 (1) of the 1992 Act requires to be amended, to delete the references to sections 5 and 6 of the 1979 Act, but at the same time ensure that importers, distributors or manufacturers of contraceptives can sell contraceptives to the persons listed in section 4 (1) of the 1992 Act, and whom I mentioned earlier.
Section 6 provides for the making of regulations in relation to any matter referred to as being specified or prescribed by regulations. This is a standard provision in legislation. The sections of this Bill which refer to regulations are: section 3, regarding controls on the location of vending machines; and section 4, which concern the standards for condoms. Section 7 specifies the penalties for offences committed under the Bill when enacted. The sections to which it applies are: section 3, penalties for contravening regulations on the location of vending machines; and section 4, penalties for contravening regulations on the standards for contraceptive sheaths.
As I mentioned earlier, section 8 will repeal the current requirements that importers and manufacturers of contraceptives — other than condoms — should be licensed, through the repeal of sections 5 and 6 of the 1979 Act. The EC Commission has expressed its unhappiness at the existence of these controls in the context of the completion of the EC Internal Market and I have taken the opportunity to repeal them. I also mentioned earlier that section 8 of the Bill proposes the repeal of section 5 and 6 of the 1992 Act.
Section 9 (1) gives the short title of the Act and is a standard provision. Section 9 (2) provides that the Health (Family Planning) Acts, 1979 and 1992, and this Act may be cited together and will be construed together.
I am happy that the enactment of this Bill will bring to a conclusion the long running saga of legislation relating to the control of condoms. As I mentioned during the Dáil debate, we have long left behind us the era of "Irish solutions to Irish problems" and the debate on the Bill in the Dáil reflected a new maturity in Irish politics in the area of family planning.
I look forward with relish, therefore, to contributions of Members of this House to the debate on the Bill and I have pleasure in commending it to the House.