Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I welcome Mr. Fitzgerald and Ms O'Brien. I get a sense from our scrutiny of the proposed EU directive that more stick than carrot is being used to address tobacco use. With all the empty seats facing us this morning, the picture is not complete. An awful lot of carrot is needed and we should perhaps have the Department of Education and Skills here with the officials from the Department of Health. All the directives in the world, all the new regulation and enforcement will address the problem only at one end of the spectrum. I am more interested in the other end because the consequence of this and previous measures is displacement from the licit to the illicit trade. I believe in discouraging and giving young people the strength to make informed choices rather than follow their peers or whatever they view as the consequences of smoking, apart from the health risks.

I have no issue with the measures presented and I note the Department's recommendation but I am concerned that sufficient effort is not made to address the illicit trade. Very little within the five points the officials outlined will impact on the illicit market. Nobody within the illicit trade will be in any way unnerved by these measures whereas those who are involved in the manufacturing sector, and the many employed in the production of rolled tobacco in this State, are concerned. We have already mentioned this in our private session. The facts of the illicit trade are only guessed at and never really known but it is much more serious than the figures provided suggest. Those involved in the illicit trade will not be in any way impacted by this directive which introduces tracing and holograms. The Department of Health is perhaps only a part of the picture. What efforts are being employed in tandem with others to discourage people from taking up smoking?