John O'Mahony (Mayo, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I am glad to contribute to the debate. It is a good, common sense approach to consolidate the legislation, get rid of the overlapping and make it much clearer so we can all understand it. Given that the world of 2015 is very different from the world of the 1800s when some of the legislation was put on the Statute Book, it needs updating and clearing up and I welcome it. In addition, there was no EU in the 1800s, and it is a major consideration today. While it is valuable and helpful to have customs legislation consolidated so it can be clearly understood and implemented, there remain major challenges, which many Deputies have outlined. There is still major illegal criminal activity operating inside and outside the State that affects us and causes millions of euro of losses to the country.

I very much compliment the Customs and Excise and the Revenue on their detections and seizures in recent days. They seized 2 million cigarettes and 12 tonnes of tobacco and the North-South co-operation was very important. In early January, 7 million cigarettes were seized at Dublin Port. While these increased detections and seizures are welcome, the worry is that this might be the tip of the iceberg and that much more might be slipping through the net. The Minister has assured us that whatever resources are needed to take on the criminal gangs are put at the disposal of the Customs and Excise and the Revenue. People should receive realistic sentences. Fuel laundering gangs were making up to €15,000 on a tanker of laundered fuel. Although sentences and fines have increased in recent years, they should be constantly examined because criminals must be hit at every level. The Government has put new tools at the disposal of the Revenue regarding traceability, such as the monthly return of mineral oil, ROM1, system, which traces fuel back to its source. However, it does not apply to petrol. Given that people in the trade, distribution companies and service stations have reported that ROM1 had an impact on diesel laundering, why does it not apply to petrol?

During recent years, an increasing number of fuel laundering operations have been closed down and seizures made. Some 130 filling stations have been closed down. Deputies Fitzmaurice and Calleary, among others, raised the major issue of petrol stretching. The Customs and Excise have assured us that they have enough resources to address it. However, while it happened last June or July, it has not been nailed down yet. It is confined to certain areas, namely, my constituency, Mayo, as well as Galway, Roscommon, Meath and Westmeath. Recently, Insurance Ireland came before the Joint Committee on Transport and Communications and told us 600 cases had been settled with people who had comprehensive insurance. However, these people have lost their no-claims bonuses. There are people who have third party insurance and whose cars have been put out of service by this and who have no access to public transport. Some people have had to buy new cars and if they had already taxed their cars, without the knowledge that they would be taken off the road, they lost the motor tax.

The issue needs to be resolved quickly. These people went into filling stations and paid for fuel, 57% of which went on taxes and customs duties, and got nothing but devastation, and they are still left hanging on. While it is not a major national issue, it is a serious issue for those affected. The other victims of petrol stretching have been the legitimate services stations. The Irish Petrol Retailers Association has formed a group which guarantees to the public that the fuel they sell is legitimate, and it should be supported. This week, it will launch in Claremorris, where there are more than 30 filling stations. A customer who goes into one of these stations will know that the fuel will be legal. Fuel contamination has put a question mark over every filling station and they must be protected. I urge the Minister to do whatever can be done to help the people devastated by it.

See this speech in context