Ms Kathleen O'Meara:

I and my colleague from the Irish Heart Foundation, Mr. Chris Macey, welcome the opportunity to come before the committee. As the Chairman indicated, our submission has been circulated. We have come to this budget process with a new and radical idea. Members will be aware the Irish Heart Foundation and the Irish Cancer Society are committed to the battle against tobacco in Ireland, especially in view of the high death rate relating to smoking. The idea we have come up with in the context of the forthcoming budget is that tobacco profits should be controlled. The tobacco industry in Ireland is earning extraordinary profits. These are much higher than needs to be the case and, as a result, we have an opportunity to do two things. The first of these would be for the Government to take €150 million extra from the industry, which would send a very strong signal. We would urge that at least some of this money be spent on combating the marketing practices of the tobacco industry, on assisting those who want to quit smoking and on providing help to those who have been harmed by smoking. Our proposal is specific in nature and it is designed to take some of the huge profits earned by the tobacco industry in Ireland. To put it in simple terms, the Government takes 79% of the industry's profits. The figure for the UK is 90%.