Ms Deirdre Drennan:

We agree the fines are far too low and because they are so low it makes it a low consequence crime. If somebody who has been in the business of smuggling heroin or cocaine gets a prison sentence they are never seen again but they can literally transfer industry and begin to bring in tobacco for which they get a paltry fine. For example, under the Casual Trading Act the first fine is €68 and the second fine is €317. If someone is bringing in goods worth thousands of euro every week, that fine will not deter them. There is a maximum fine but there is not a minimum fine. We would like to see a minimum fine of €10,000 introduced for two reasons. First, it would be a greater deterrent but, equally, it would narrow the price point between legitimate and non-duty paid items because they will have to recover their costs. I do not know if that answers the Senator's question. I think he just wanted the point confirmed.

Equally, the Senator wanted the point about the scanners confirmed. To us it is a no-brainer. We have six ports that are wide open and with the level of counterfeit and contraband coming through, the scanners are self-financing. They would make a profit in a couple of weeks. To clarify how the scanner would work, we are all familiar with the scanners at airports through which one puts hand luggage. It is that type of scanner but on a much larger scale. A truck would drive through it, and that is how it would work. We cannot understand the reason there is a problem with putting scanners in every port. Does that answer the Senator's question?