Mr. Stephen Lynam:

I thank the committee for its time. We have already spoken about the need to freeze excise duties, invest more in detection and reform the Casual Trading Acts. We believe a whole-of-government approach to this issue is needed. The report states that responsibility for combating these problems falls between several Departments. Those Departments need to co-operate with us and with each other to combat the black market. We will host a round-table conference on this issue on 29 November. We have sent invitations to key stakeholders, including retailers, suppliers, and relevant officials in the Departments of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation, Finance, Justice and Equality and Social Protection, the Revenue Commissioners and the Garda Síochána. We want to ensure the approach we advocate is adopted. The meeting will be chaired by the Minister of State with responsibility for small business. I would like to take this opportunity to extend an invitation to representatives of this committee who may wish to attend. We believe we have ways of tackling our serious problem with the black market. We are eager to work with the committee to bring about a fairer and safer legitimate supply and retail chain. I thank the committee for its time. We will be delighted to deal with any questions.