Sunbeds: Judge says it's a pity ban is not extended to adults too
A judge has stated that it is a pity that there is not a ban on sunbed operators facilitating sunbed sessions for adults.
At Ennis District Court on Friday, Judge Alec Gabbett made his comment after a Shannon-based sunbed business, Solcraft Ltd entered a guilty plea to selling the use of a sunbed at Cosmopoli-Tan in Shannon to a person under the age of 18.
The Health Service Executive (HSE) is bringing the rare prosecution under Section 4 of the Public Health (Sunbeds) Act 2014 where only two such HSE prosecutions for the sale of sunbed sessions to minors were recorded in 2024.
Solcraft Ltd of Dun Na Ri, Shannon has pleaded guilty to the offence taking place at Cosmopoli-Tan at Unit 7, Block E, Brú Na Sionna, Shannon on November 26th 2024.
Acting as agent in the case on behalf of solicitor, John Casey, solicitor, Stiofan Fitzpatrick told the court there is a guilty plea in the case by Solcraft Ltd.
Judge Gabbett told the court that sunbed operators can't facilitate providing a sunbed session to children.
He said: 'That is a very good thing. It is a pity that this doesn't apply to adults as well."
Solicitor for the HSE, Michelle Cronin said: "I wouldn't disagree with you, Judge.' Judge Gabbett said:
To be frank now, there were prosecutions by the HSE for smoking [in the workplace] but this is the same thing. It is probably more dangerous.
Ms Cronin said: 'It is a concern to us that there is an increase in the amount of sunbeds available.'
The HSE was prosecuting three parties for the same offence in the case and Ms Cronin of Comyn Kelleher Tobin Solicitors said that the HSE was withdrawing the prosecutions against Przemyslaw Szczupak of Cosmopoli-Tan and Munique Comargo of Cregaun, Ennis.
Asked on the level of enforcement activity under the Public Health (Sunbeds) Act, a spokesman for the HSE said on Friday: 'In 2024, ten fixed payment notices were served and four prosecutions taken by the National Environmental Health Service under the Public Health (Sunbeds) Act 2014.
He said: 'Two of the prosecutions were for sales to minors and both were upheld by the court.' He added:
"In 2023, 17 fixed payment notices were served, and four prosecutions taken by the National Environmental Health Service (NEHS) under the Public Health (Sunbeds) Act 2014.
"Two of the prosecutions were for sales to minors and one was upheld by the Court."
Judge Gabbett adjourned the case for sentence to June 20 at Ennis District Court.
Read More
Salon caught in sting operation admits breaking sunbed rules for under-18s
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Irish Daily Mirror
3 hours ago
- Irish Daily Mirror
Irish wife of 'innocent hostage' in Iraq shares his first words after release
The Irish wife of an "innocent hostage" freed from prison in Iraq after four years has revealed his first words were, "my family, I'm out". Robert Pether left his family home at Elphin in Roscommon in April 2021 to fly to Baghdad to sort out a €20 million contract row between his Dubai-based employer and the Central Bank of Iraq. But he was arrested and jailed on fraud charges, which he denies and which the United Nations claims are false. After over four years of his family campaigning in the Irish Mirror for his freedom amid rapid deterioration in cancer survivor Rob's health, he is now out of prison. His wife Desree revealed he is in seriously bad health but cannot return home yet because Iraq has imposed a travel ban. She told us: "We got the news from Robert himself via video call on his solicitor's phone. His first words were, 'There's my family, I'm out'." She added that it is such "a huge relief" but he "is not home yet" so this is just a "step in the right direction". She revealed that she can't go to Iraq to bring him home for "urgent medical care" because their "kids are too scared of me going out to get him in case I would get jailed too". Desree said her husband is "unrecognisable" to her, four years after she last saw him. She hopes that the move to get him home will start as soon as the Islamic holiday of Eid ends. The religious period, which is often used by countries in the Middle East to release prisoners, started yesterday and ends on Tuesday, June 10. The UAE released 963 as part of Eid and Afghanistan released 1,500, according to international figures. Desree told the Irish Mirror: "It was a really brief call when he rang to say he was out. It was the first time that we had seen him in the flesh in four years. "We were in shock because he has deteriorated so much. He is unrecognisable. "He is really scrawny and skinny and looks so unwell. It was a huge shock for the kids to see him like that. "We knew that he had been sick for the last four months, but to actually see the toll that all of this has taken on his body was shocking. "It reinforced for us how much we have to fight to get rid of this travel ban and get him home after Eid finishes. "He needs to get home for urgent medical treatment. We are talking to him and trying to keep up his spirits and keep him company while we try to get him home. "It is a huge relief that we have taken a step in the right direction, but he is not here yet. I can't go to him. "The children are just not comfortable with me flying over. They have already lost one parent and they don't trust that I would be safe. "They would be devastated if they lost me as well. We can't be there with him now, but it is brilliant that it is happening. We are massively grateful." She added: "Robert is not well at all. He really needs to just come home so he can get the proper medical care he needs. "It was a shock. It was hard to be very happy to see him but also to see the state of him. "He's completely unrecognisable. It's a shock to the system to see how far he has declined. "We don't know the exact stipulations on the travel ban but at least he's out of the prison, and in a comfortable bed. "It has been a living nightmare every day, 18 hours a day, seven days a week. "We've still got another major battle ahead to get him home. Until he's actually on the plane, out of airspace, and on his way, I don't think we will breathe properly and let go of all the angst." Rob, who is from Australia but his home is in Roscommon, applied for Irish citizenship before he was sentenced to four years in prison. His family – who say he is an "innocent hostage" – last month warned in the Irish Mirror that he had been hit with a new cancer diagnosis. They said his continued detention could mean a death sentence. Rob, who previously had melanoma skin cancer, has a prostate that is "three times normal size", revealed Desree. His family expected him to be released in January, but he was hit with fresh money-laundering charges, which Rob and his lawyers have rejected. Efforts to have him released urgently intensified, with Tanaiste Simon Harris holding top level talks with Iraq's deputy prime minister Dr Fuad Hussein to lobby for Rob's freedom. The family was making plans to sell their home, their car, and their furniture in a bid to raise cash to "survive". Construction engineer Rob, 49, and wife Desree, 53, and kids Flynn 21, Oscar 19, and Nala 12 have been apart since he was arrested in April 2021. Several high-profile figures including Taoiseach Micheal Martin, Tanaiste Mr Harris, Sinn Fein Dail TD Claire Kerrane, party leader Mary Lou McDonald, and former senator Eugene Murphy all vowed to help secure his release. Australia's foreign affairs minister Penny Wong recently called for his release and said: "It's time for him to be returned to his family." A spokesperson for America's special presidential envoy for hostage affairs (SPEHA) said recently: "We hope to see him reunited with his family as soon as possible." Mr Harris said the latest development is "welcome news in what has been a long and distressing saga for Robert's wife, three children and his wider family and friends"
Irish Examiner
13 hours ago
- Irish Examiner
Robert Pether's family to hear of restrictions put on engineer next week
The family of Irish-based engineer Robert Pether has to wait until next Wednesday before being able to find out exactly what restrictions have been placed on him following his release from an Iraqi jail. The 50-year-old was released on bail on Thursday and is currently in accommodation in Iraq, organised by the Irish, Australian, and Egyptian embassies for himself and his Egyptian work colleague, Khalid Radwan. The men have been in prison in Iraq since April 7, 2021, after being arrested on fraud charges following a contractual dispute involving his employer over a new building for the Central Bank of Iraq. The Australian and his wife Desree had been living with their children in Elphin, Roscommon, prior to his arrest. They moved to Ireland in 2019. He and his colleague were arrested after being called to a meeting in Baghdad to discuss the project they had been working on. Desree told the Irish Examiner that legal fees have cost the family more than €100,000 since Robert's imprisonment, and she had to sell the family car 'so that we could eat'. She said her husband has missed many family milestones including their children's birthdays, their oldest son's graduation, and his own 50th birthday in April. Their 12-year-old daughter asked Santa every year to bring her father home She said the couple were 20 years married last October — a milestone they had planned to mark with a vow renewal ceremony. Desree says they are waiting to get information on what restrictions apply to his release. However, they cannot get this information until the Eid Al-Adha festival ends on Wednesday. Gut issue She said he needs to be brought back to Ireland as a matter of urgency because he is very ill with a gut issue. He has had no medical assessment since his release. While he was on a high after his release, he found it difficult to sleep on Thursday night, finding his new accommodation as 'too quiet' after his prison experience. Desree said the Irish Government has gone 'above and beyond' in Robert's case, especially as he is not an Irish citizen. On Friday, Taoiseach Micheál Martin said the fact that he is an Australian citizen is a complicating factor. However, he said: 'Both ourselves and the Australian government have been working together in terms of endeavouring to get him out.' He said the Irish Government has been making 'continuing efforts for quite a long number of years now' in Robert's case. Mr Martin said the current Iraqi foreign minister has been very helpful and he said he himself, as well as Tánaiste Simon Harris, have been in touch with him. Mr Martin added: "It is very distressing for his family and his wife and kids, and I don't want to say things that may in any way hinder his eventual arrival back to Ireland, but I believe this is a good first step. "We have to work very hard with countries such as Iraq and others in terms of the treatment of Irish citizens.' Read More Irish-based Australian released after four years in Iraqi jail
The Irish Sun
16 hours ago
- The Irish Sun
Inside family's ‘living nightmare' as Roscommon dad ‘completely unrecognisable' after 4 years' detention in Iraqi jail
THE distraught wife of an Irish-based man released on bail after being held in jail in Iraq for more than four years said her husband is 'completely unrecognisable' following his detention. Robert Pether was Advertisement 3 Robert has been trapped in an Iraqi jail for four years Credit: Facebook 3 Robert is a dad-of-three who lived in Roscommon Credit: Facebook The An Speaking on She told the programme: 'It was a shock. It was hard to be very happy to see him but also to see the state of him. Advertisement READ MORE IN IRISH NEWS 'He's completely unrecognisable. It's a shock to the system to see how far he has declined. 'I feel like a bus has hit me. It all happened so late last night.' Ms Pether added that despite the grim jail situation, her husband's cellmates were "very good to him". She explained that he fainted now and again from not eating enough, at which time those locked up with him would give him tea and honey. Advertisement MOST READ ON THE IRISH SUN Ms Pether called it "the best of a bad situation" and said she now hopes there is "light at the end of the tunnel". She added that her husband is still facing a travel ban in Iraq. The 'We don't know the exact stipulations on the travel ban but at least he's out of the prison, and in a comfortable bed.' Advertisement Ms Pether said trying to get her husband home has been 'beyond frustrating'. 'It has been a living nightmare every day. 18 hours a day, seven days a week,' she said, adding that this development was a small step in the right direction. HUGE CONCERN A mechanical engineer, Mr Pether had worked in the Towards the end of the project, a dispute arose between the Advertisement It landed Mr Pether and his In 2023, the International Chamber of Commerce's Court of Arbitration ruled that Iraq's central bank was at fault in the dispute with CME, and ordered it to pay $13m to the company. He told Advertisement 'This is welcome news, it's been a very long-running, and extraordinary distressing, time for Robert's wife, for his three children, for his wider circle of family and friends in Roscommon.' Mr Harris welcomed it as a first step to his being allowed to return to his wife and three 3 Robert's wife said he looks 'unrecognisable' after his detainment Credit: Facebook
