Abundance of vape shops in Sligo town deemed ‘a degradation of our streetscapes’

By Philip Rooney, The Sligo Champion

The abundance of vape shops in Sligo town and their bright and colourful shop fronts was discussed at the April meeting of Sligo County Council with Cllr Fergal Nealon’s motion on the issue receiving widespread backing from his fellow Councillors.

There was particular criticism of the shopfronts which were deemed by many Councillors to be enticing children to purchase the vape products with Cllr Nealon insisting his motion was “about protecting our children.”

In his motion Cllr Nealon called for the Council’s planning and economic section to “Examine the scope within the County Development Plan and local areas to introduce specific planning controls on the concentration, location and signage of vape retail units, particularly in proximity to schools, playgrounds, and youth facilities.”

The motion also asked for the local authority to “Investigate the feasibility of applying differential commercial rates or a supplementary rates levy to vape e-cigarettes retail premises as a means of discouraging their further proliferation in the county.”

The final part of the motion called for the local authority to “Report back to the elected members on the available options within the existing legislative and regulatory framework at the earliest opportunity.”

Speaking to the motion Cllr Nealon referred to the “neon lights” and “cartoon style branding” adding, “They are designed to catch the eye of a 12 year old walking home from school.”

Cllr Nealon continued, “It should already be subject to planning conditions," adding he was familiar with local businesses who had been “put through the ringer” with regards their shop front and signage.

Cllr Nealon concluded by saying, “We are not addressing it in this town.”

Cllr Arthur Gibbons also voiced his support for the motion saying he and other Councillors had received correspondence from a concerned parent who said their 12 year old child purchased a vape and asked what Councillors were going to do about the situation. Cllr Gibbons informed the meeting his advice to the parent was to contact An Garda Siochana.

The motion was also supported by Cllr Thomas Walsh who voiced the opinion that, “They are degrading to our town centre.”

Cllr Walsh added, “There are too many vape shops in the town centre and it is having a negative impact in terms of retail. We all want units to be occupied; surely we cannot want any more vape shops in Sligo town centre.

Cllr Gino O’Boyle also hit out at the amount of vape shops in Sligo saying, “Anyone selling to children should be hit with a huge fine. I’d be in favour of closing them all down.”

The motion also received the backing of Cllr Ann Higgins who said, “We need to look at the signage and where they are located. It is very cynical what they are doing. They wouldn’t be popping up if there wasn’t a demand. I don’t want Sligo turning into a town like in the UK with only vape shops and charity shops.”

Cllr Dara Mulvey also voiced his support for the motion saying, “It’s very obvious who they are targeting. It is hard enough to rear children without this extra pressure.”

Cllr Edel McSharry noted the decades long campaign “before anything was done about tobacco and nicotine,” adding, “We really need to look at policy. Let’s look at out circle of influence. If we all agree we need to do something in terms of planning, let’s do it.”

Director of Services Emer Concannon insisted the local authority is powerless to prevent the sale of vapes but said the issue of shop fronts can be addressed.

"We cannot control what type of shop controls a space; we can look at signage and we will do that.”

Sligo County Council Chief Executive Martin Lydon expressed the view that that the local authority does not want to see an abundance of vape shops in local towns but stressed they are legal businesses.

"This is not about rates," he insisted. “We do not want vape shops all over our towns. If we start dictating how people manage their properties we will have a notice of motion in front of us. This will take legislative change, they are legal.”

Cllr Gilroy also offered his support for the motion. He noted the societal changes from when he was a youngster saying he started smoking at 13 and recalled a prominent shop, The Smoker’s Own, in the heart of Sligo town.

Concluding the debate Cllr Nealon remarked, ”We’ve talked about everything today. Can we please rephrase the question to ‘what can we do about this. Let’s all look at lobbying in terms of legislation. We don’t need them on every street corner. It is a degradation of our streetscapes as well.

Article Funded by the Local Democracy Reporting Scheme.