Joe Higgins (Dublin West, Socialist Party) | Oireachtas source

Ba mhaith liom arís labhairt in aghaidh an ordaithe seo, a bhaineann le tabac. Is fimínteacht ar pháirt an Rialtais ligint orthu gur ar mhaithe le sláinte don chuid is mó atá sé seo á dhéanamh acu. Is ionsaí eacnamaíochta eile é, i ndáiríre, a luífidh isteach orthu siúd a bhfuil thíos leis an dúil atá acu maidir le nicitín. Buille eacnamaíochta eile atá i gceist do ghnáthdhaoine atá sa chruachás seo. I do not take seriously the arguments that have been made in the House for many years about the extra excise duty on tobacco being primarily for health reasons. It is simply another grab for another slice from the pockets of those who are mostly ordinary working class people on middle and low incomes and unemployed people, including those who, unfortunately, are very hard pressed psychologically by the effects of the austerity of the past five years, which does not help them to kick the nicotine habit.

If the Tánaiste were serious about tackling the toxic health effects of nicotine addiction there are a number of roads he could take. I would take the entire tobacco industry into public ownership and strictly control it that way. That hardly would be agreeable to the Labour Party. However, it might at least consider a massive tax on the profits of such companies and devote the extra taxation to address the health effects of nicotine addiction to prevention programmes, breaking addiction for those who are addicted, and to health treatment for the victims of addiction. Those are the areas that must be addressed. A glib measure such as this does nothing. The Government is cutting back on the health service which will affect people who, unfortunately, suffer badly as a result of nicotine at the same time as pretending this is a health measure.

If the Tánaiste were serious about bringing in the extra money to alleviate much of the hardship, a simple 1% in wealth tax on the wealthiest 1% would yield €583 million. If an emergency 5% tax were imposed on them it would yield €2.9 billion in one year. That is only to mention one source of wealth the Labour Party, shamefully, resolutely turned its head against but it hit again the people who can least afford it, including with this measure.

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