As the Deputy will be aware, the Department of Health is the lead Department on the Public Health (Standardised Packaging of Tobacco) Bill. Government approved the drafting of this legislation in November 2013 on the grounds of public health policy considerations. The Bill has progressed through a number of stages of enactment in the Houses of the Oireachtas having been passed by the Seanad and completing Second Stage in the Dáil on 2 October 2014. The Bill was formally notified to the Commission and to Member States under the EU Technical Standards Directive (98/34/EC) and the Tobacco Products Directive (2014/40/EU) on 17 June 2014. As the Deputy has noted, detailed opinions on the proposed measures have been received from a number of Member States and these are currently
being considered by officials in the Department of Health. I understand that a response is being drafted by the Department of Health taking account of observations provided by other relevant Government Departments, including my own Department.
The Commission and Member States had until 18th September to comment or provide detailed opinions on the proposed legislative measure. For this reason, the standstill period has increased by three months, i.e. until 18th December 2014. The legislative process cannot continue until after this standstill period.
