Mr. Paul Candon:

Retail Excellence Ireland is not involved in the tobacco industry other than representing our members who are licensed to sell the product. We do not receive any funding from the tobacco industry in any way. Members buy tobacco from major wholesalers and retailers under licence in a difficult market.

We absolutely agree tobacco and smoking are major health issues and a huge problem for Ireland. We do not believe the introduction of plain packaging will stop the problem. If this is introduced and passed two years from now legitimate retailers who sell the product will see a significant decrease in premium brands. This will move consumers to lower-priced value packs, making them more affordable and perhaps more accessible to younger people. There will be an increase in the illicit trade from the estimated 20% at present. What if this increases to 30%? Young people would have far more access to the product because of plain packaging and we could end up with this decision resulting in an increase in tobacco consumption in Ireland. I ask the committee to ponder this.