Colm Burke (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

All of the questions that need to be asked have been asked. I refer to the drop in the number of cigarettes seized, from 178 million to 41 million. Does this mean that there is an ongoing trade but at a smaller scale such that the 41 million cigarettes seized is a small figure in real terms? Perhaps the smaller number makes the problem more difficult to identify. Are these figures an accurate reflection?

I speak to people working in medical services who deal with medical clinics on a daily basis. One person told me about someone who was smoking 300 cigarettes a week and said there was no way, on the income that person received, that they could buy cigarettes in shops. I have heard this from a number of medical personnel. Despite medical advice, people continue to smoke heavily and it is clear based on their incomes that they cannot afford to buy cigarettes in shops. Medical service professionals have not seen a drop in the level of consumption by the people with whom they are dealing.

With the growth in international communities in Ireland in the past 20 years, it is that much easier to keep an eye on Irish people involved in illegal activity. What strategies have the Garda Síochána and the Revenue Commissioners taken on board to deal with people from international communities given that they do not have the same inside line that they have with Irish people? What change in strategy needs to be adopted to deal with this issue? I recently raised the issue of recruitment to the Garda Síochána. Do we need to examine the recruitment of people from outside the European Union who are living in Ireland and now Irish citizens? They have inside knowledge of international communities. What strategy has been adopted in dealing with this issue?