Michael Mulcahy (Dublin South Central, Fianna Fail)

I too wish to speak on resolution No. 3, which deals with excise duty on cigarettes. As a non-smoker, I am reluctant to enter the debate, since I hate to tell others what they should or should not do. What we are trying to do, if we are honest with ourselves, is execute an instrument of health policy and, to a certain degree, social engineering.

Two valid points have been made in the debate, the first being that we must discourage the young from smoking, to which end we should of course increase excise duty as much as possible. On the other hand, there may be older people, as Deputy Rabbitte has pointed out, who are addicted to cigarettes, meaning that the increase may cause them some hardship. We must examine the issue in terms broader than the excise issue.

I support the 50 cent rise. The Irish Cancer Society had sought a rise of €2, and I would personally have favoured a larger increase in the duty on cigarettes. Many young people nowadays have large disposable incomes, and an extra 50 cent for them might not make a great deal of difference.

Another issue is smuggling, since the more that one increases the price of cigarettes, the greater the temptation to smuggle them into the jurisdiction. The relationship between price increases and smuggling should be examined very carefully. Regarding the CPI, the social partners must be put under a little more pressure. I would like to secure agreement early in 2007 that, by the time of the next budget, cigarettes can be removed from the CPI, with much larger increases in tobacco excise duty.

If one really wishes to stop young people, one should also consider access. Young people can use cigarette vending machines everywhere. With those caveats, I offer my strong support for resolution No. 3.

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