(Carlow-Kilkenny): I am grateful for the opportunity to raise this problem. There seems to be a particular problem in Carlow this year where bangers are being put through letterboxes and so on. I am sure that is great fun for the young people involved in it but it is not very funny for people who are advancing in years and are frightened by it.
When I inquired what could be done about it I discovered we rely on section 80 of the Explosives Act, 1875, to deal with the throwing of fireworks etc. I do not want to be a spoilsport as boys will boys and girls will be girls but it is important to be very careful when using fireworks and I do not want that part of the Act to be used very severely against young people, unless they deliberately throw fireworks into dangerous places.
My worry is that we must rely on section 4 of the Explosives Act, 1883, to deal with those who have explosives in their possession or control. It is over 100 years since the last legislation on fireworks was enacted and it is time to update that legislation. Parents should be able to advise their children about the use of these items but, unfortunately, in some cases they do not. Apart from the annoyance they cause to elderly people, sometimes children also suffer. One child recently lost some fingers as a result of playing with fireworks and another damaged their eye.
These fireworks are imported from China. I am sure that in 1875 and 1883 China had more to think about than the making of fireworks. In my view, the standard of these fireworks is not what we would expect.
I am raising this matter in the hope that new legislation will be enacted to deal with the sale of explosives and bangers. They are not generally sold in shops but in open markets. The Garda do a great job confiscating them — they recently confiscated £8,000 worth of fireworks in Athy — which saves people from injuring themselves while they are trying to have fun.