Mr. Frank Gleeson:

With regard to fuel laundering, there have been many times when unsuspecting motorists have bought fuel for 10 cent cheaper than the local price because it was a great deal. The problem is that if one uses this fuel for any period it will damage the car's engine, which can cost between €3,000 and €15,000 to replace. Not many people know that - it is a secret that has not been told. We cannot say it, unfortunately, so it must come from the Government or from trade associations such as the AA which, in fairness, does try to highlight that fact.

Given that tobacco can be sold on the street, this trade is difficult to tackle. For sure, we need stronger enforcement and more scanners at the ports. We also need more intelligence about the distributors, as I might call them. Black market tobacco distributors are typically either paramilitaries or highly organised criminal gangs. Do gardaí have enough resources, or could we give them some in the form of outsourcing? To stop this happening on the streets we need to have better enforcement in the form of fines. We have put forward one or two interesting suggestions. For example, instead of imposing fines, how about taking away current or future State benefits, payments or concessions to the equivalent value of the smuggled goods being sold? The casual street seller who is defrauding us of hundreds of thousands of euro could be hit in his or her pocket through any future benefits the Government might supply. That is an interesting proposal. Obviously, there should be bigger fines and custodial sentences for the more organised activity, but the actual transaction must be painted as an unacceptable purchase on the black market, not as a victimless crime. The victims of this crime are, first, the Exchequer and, ultimately, the consumer, who must pay more taxes and bear more cuts as a result of the €860 million that is lost to us.