‘Lit up like a Christmas tree' – Calls for vape shop restrictions in south Dublin
The motion, brought by Sinn Féin councillor William Casey, said that the 'proliferation of vape shops" in the centre of villages and near schools was an 'undesirable development' that should be tackled with a ban.
During the Clondalkin, Newcastle, Rathcoole, Saggart and Brittas Area Committee meeting, Mr Casey said the growing number of vape shops were targeted at school-going children.
"It's our children that they're aiming at. They're no longer aiming them at the adults who have taken to vaping because they couldn't get off cigarettes, they're being aimed directly as a first-choice product for children,' he said.
Other councillors agreed, with Independent Francis Timmins saying that he wasn't only worried about the number of vape shops, but also their lengthy opening hours.
"At 11 or 12 at night, a vape shop open in the middle of Clondalkin is a bit bizarre to me. I don't get it, I don't understand it,' he said.
"I'm concerned about the opening times, I'm concerned about the litter of the vapes around the shops, we've had an issue with that, we've had an issue with signage, particularly the signage around the ACA (architectural conservation area).
'One of the vape shops is lit up like a Christmas tree, and it's lit up from early morning to late at night, and it's just diabolical to be quite honest with you for a heritage village,' he added.
Mr Timmins said he thought there were four or five such shops in Clondalkin village, with several selling vapes and sweets alongside one another, a tactic that 'really worries' him.
Independent Ireland councillor Linda de Courcy said 'nothing good is going to come' from the number of vape shops now open in Clondalkin, and said she had seen children buying sweets in them.
A response from SDCC given to Mr Casey said that no policy on vape shops existed in the County Development Plan 2022-2028.
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Even if it were in the plan, the council said it would have a 'very limited effect' on the ground because shops benefit from significant exemptions under the Planning and Development Act 2001.
"This means a wide range of commercial and retail premises in our villages and communities could be changed to vape shops without planning permission. This makes the planning system unsuited to the management of vape shops.'
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