Ciara Conway (Waterford, Labour) | Oireachtas source

My question was answered by Revenue when a member of its staff said that there are no blackspots and no place as bad as another. Does the Garda Síochána share that experience? Retailers have approached me and said that on examination of their books for any given week their takings for cigarette sales can be down by as much as €4,000. They can also see that there is a cycle of events. I have encouraged retailers to contact the organisations present in order that their information can be shared with joint policing committees and Revenue. Retailers have examined their books and compared one week's profits against another only to discover that their sales are down. They have also described how the illicit trade takes place. For example, calls are made from telephone boxes and a passing car drops a package at a location. Retailers through their retail experience are under the impression that the illicit trade in tobacco has had a more negative impact on their business than on other sectors.