Mr. Stephen Lynam:

That is a good point. We need to concentrate on the supply chain. If we were to quash demand overnight, ultimately the problem would disappear. One of the recommendations in our report is that the Government should invest money in an awareness campaign. There is only so much we can do. The State has invested in awareness campaigns of all sorts. The more people think this is a victimless crime whereby they can get a good bargain, the longer it will persist.

Apart from the fact that this money is going into the hands of criminals, there is an issue of consumer rights. If one purchases something on the black market one's rights as a consumer are non-existent. One cannot get one's money back; there is no best-before clause or anything of that kind. One loses all one's rights when one parts with the money. If consumers were informed about that we could do a lot of work.