‘Sunbed law needs to be strengthened’
THE Government is working with EU officials to draw up tougher laws that will clamp down on sunbed use amid rising skin cancer rates, Health Minister Stephen Donnelly has revealed.
He said the ‘enforcement’ and ‘awareness’ of exiting legislation ‘could go further’.
Mr Donnelly was speaking in response to a Dáil question from Sinn Féin children’s spokeswoman Kathleen Funchion, who expressed concern about rogue tanning salons that allow teenagers to use sunbeds in contravention of the law.
Last summer the MoS revealed just two salons in the entire country have been prosecuted since legislation banning minors from using sunbeds was introduced a decade ago, despite widespread evidence the law is being ignored.
The Irish Cancer Society has also called for greater resources to police the legislation. Responding to questions in the Dáil this week, Mr Donnelly said his officials are working with the EU on new measures that will restrict sunbed use as part of its wider ‘Beating Cancer Plan’.
In its blueprint, the European Commission said it will ‘explore measures on exposure to ultraviolet radiation, including from sunbeds, which increases the risk of melanoma, the most serious form of skin cancer’. Asked to provide specifics of the plan, Mr Donnelly said: ‘It [EU] is considering restricting access for high-risk groups, the mandatory supervision of the commercial use of sunbeds, the provision of mandatory eye protection, and increasing awareness by providing information on the risks associated. I asked the Chief Medical Officer [Professor Breda Smyth] and her team to engage in a new public health strategy, including prevention.’
The National Cancer Registry Ireland reported that around a quarter of all cancers diagnosed between 2019 and 2021 were non melanoma skin cancers. Melanoma accounts for one in 20 of the remaining invasive cancers diagnosed and one in 50 of cancer deaths every year.
The Department of Health confirmed one-in-three (149) out of 447 salons inspected in 2022 were noncompliant with the Sunbeds Act.
According to the HSE just 14 fines were issued to rogue salons that same year. Ms Funchion also said she supports an eventual outright ban on sunbed use in Ireland.