Smokers could see themselves banned from the sidelines of pitches and playgrounds if a proposal from one city councillor gets the green light.
Cllr Pearce Flannery believes the time has come for smoking to be outlawed at all public spaces, inside or out. He wants to kick-start the initiative by focusing on Council-owned property.
The Fine Gael representative has tabled a motion to introduce a byelaw to ban smoking for playgrounds and sports facilities owned by the local authority.
“I have small kids and for the last five years I’ve spent an inordinate amount of time in playgrounds and at pitches and I’ve noticed a lot of people smoking.
“It’s sending out the wrong message to children and teenagers. We as councillors could help start a culture of abhorrence for smoking,” he exclaimed.
He rejects the notion that any byelaw about smoking outdoors could not be policed and should therefore be kicked to touch.
“This is thrown up at me all the time – that’s it’s unenforceable. Even if it is breached – and it will be breached, let’s be honest about it – if it works in half the cases, if it excites talk about it, it’s working,” he insisted.
“I believe a lot of our social ills are down to the fact we ignore them. Things very often police themselves. The best example is drink driving – half the people in Galway used to drive home after drinking, now it’s rare.”
He expects the proposal to get cross-party support as it is for the “the common good”.
“Even if it has a moderate affect, it’s a success. My vision is that we will virtually eradicate smoking, and banning smoking from playgrounds and pitches is a good place to start,” he explained.
He tells his own children – aged, 4, 8, 11 – how their granny died from smoking in a bid to warn them off ever taking it up.
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