Mr. Chris Macey:

There is no doubt that tobacco smuggling is a very big issue. In addition to the revenue that is being lost, cheap tobacco is being made available to young people. In our opinion, this is keeping smoking rates among children very high. However, there is a great deal of misinformation in respect of this matter. We are strongly of the view that tax increases are not necessarily the driver of the problem in question. Not many people are aware that the price of cigarettes in the UK is actually higher than it is in this country. The cost of the premium brand of cigarette in Ireland is €9.20, whereas in the UK it is €9.30. The UK authorities have been increasing the price for the past ten years on a price escalator above inflation of between 2% and 5%. In the same period, they have cut the rate of smuggling from 21% to 9% because they are dealing with the problem. In this country we are reducing the number of customs officers by hundreds.