Mr. Joe Sweeney:

I shall respond to Deputy Calleary's questions first. He asked for a description of the app which is connected to the use of Codentify technology and replaces the paper tax stamp with a digital one. The codes would be controlled and issued by the Government. Anybody who wished to produce tobacco products would have to apply to the Government to use them. The codes can be changed daily and that is why they are so attractive to the legal trade. Illicit traders can copy the paper tax stamp in three weeks but they cannot copy the codes as quickly. The Government has also spent quite a bit of money on producing, storing and transporting tax stamps but they are vulnerable to theft and are easily copied by counterfeiters. The new technology can track and trace trade and each packet of tobacco can be traced back to the machine that produced it. If legislation is put in place to allow the Garda to use the product via a smartphone app then gardaí will be able to identify whether duty has been paid on cigarettes in seconds.

We advocate an on-the-spot fine for the possession of counterfeit products discovered using this method. The technology can be extended to other products. I talked about using it on tobacco products because that is what we have concentrated on. It can be used for anything that is bar coded.

Deputy Calleary mentioned scanners. We are anxious that the Government takes the initiative to install scanners at all ports. Ireland is an island nation and its ports make it vulnerable to the importation of illicit products which is an easy option for illegal traders. They even use Ireland to smuggle stuff into the UK because it is so easy to smuggle stuff in here. Port scanners are self-financing. A port scanner costs about €3 million and would pay for itself in a week because that is how must revenue is lost through illicit trade. There is no reason not to go ahead with the option.

I shall now deal with Deputy Tóibín's questions. I want all members of the committee to understand that retailers and the federation are not pro-smoking. However, tobacco is a legal product in our shops and we deserve the business. Our legal channels are the only way that the Government can implement a regulation to curb the availability of tobacco to young people. Many of the NFRN members have found that people under the age of 30 do not frequent our shops seeking tobacco. I have no problem with young people trying to buy tobacco in my shop because they can buy it easily and cheaply on the street.

The Deputy asked what help can be given to small businesses. He said that not enough has been done for small businesses and we feel the same. The federation has adopted a policy of carefully examining the matter in the hope of providing solutions which is one way that we differ from other groups.

The Deputy proposed a new rates scheme for small and medium sized enterprises. We would like the Government to give a break to smaller retailers and businesses and charge larger retailers more. We want it to implement a system similar to the one in the North that was introduced by Sammy Wilson. Large businesses were levied rates and the moneys were put into a fund to offset the rates charged to small businesses. Last year was its first year of implementation and 24,000 SMEs benefitted to the tune of €1,000, or the equivalent in sterling.

The beauty of the scheme is that it is cash neutral for Government. There is a further positive aspect to it here in the Republic of Ireland in that it retains some of the profits. Many of those companies will be foreign national companies and it retains an amount of their profit in this country for the benefit of this country and businesses in this country. We think it is an ideal scheme for here.

Councillors around the country have told me that they are constantly trying to figure out a scheme that will benefit small businesses. They state that if they implement a reduction in the rate to accommodate small businesses, they must give the same reduction to large businesses and they will lose revenue. This scheme solves that problem.

With regard to helping SMEs, we also need the Government to look at financing. There is a big problem with getting finance for small and medium-sized enterprises at present. The Government has a fund to which SMEs can apply for funding. When I speak to politicians about this, they wonder why there is a small uptake on that. The reason is that the term is too short and the interest rate is too high. We want the Government to look at that scheme again. We recommend that the term should be five years, not three, and that the rate of interest should be at least as low as 5%, not the current 8%. These are unsecured loans and we understand the reason for the regulation surrounding it, but it needs to be changed. If it is changed, there will be a much better uptake on it and it will benefit small and medium-sized enterprises.