Shane Cassells (Meath West, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

The impact of the sale of illegal goods in markets and, more particularly, as Deputy Breathnach has said, in large commercial operations, is very real in the sense of the harm it does to people's health in the first instance and, of course, if people are getting them cheaply they will avail of larger quantities, which will do them more harm. From a financial point of view it is harmful to the revenue of the State as it takes from the money required to fund the services the public demand.

From my time on the Committee of Public Accounts during the lifetime of this Dáil that impact was brought home very sharply. The Comptroller and Auditor General produces a special chapter annually on the impact of illegal tobacco sales. The Chairman of the Revenue Commissioners, Niall Cody, has given extensive evidence to the committee on the topic and will do so again in two weeks' time.

Total cigarette consumption in Ireland last year was estimated to be approximately 4.3 billion cigarettes. That, in itself, is staggering. The Minister of State, Deputy Phelan, referred to figures and stated the losses to the Exchequer must be treated as speculative.

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In his latest report on the matter, the Comptroller and Auditor General set out that although the nature of the illicit market in tobacco products makes it challenging to accurately measure the tax losses involved, using the World Bank methodology the number of illegal cigarettes consumed in Ireland last year was estimated to be approximately 13% of the total with a notional loss of revenue to the Exchequer was €229 million. I presume the Minister of State, Deputy Phelan, respects the opinion of the Comptroller and Auditor General. A higher figure was estimated by other groups. KPMG commissioned a report entitled "Project SUN" which indicated that Ireland had the third highest rate of counterfeit and contraband cigarettes in the EU in 2016 at 17.5%.

The illicit tobacco trade is an important source of revenue for international organised crime. In March of this year, Revenue officers seized 23.5 million counterfeit cigarettes in Jenkinstown in the Louth constituency of Deputy Breathnach. The cigarettes were valued at €47.8 million and would have resulted in an estimated loss to the Exchequer of €37.5 million. Unlike the Minister of State, Deputy Phelan, the Comptroller and Auditor General has stated that the figures in this area are real. The Minister of State, Deputy D'Arcy, stated that implementing the provisions of the Bill would prove very difficult. When he considers the figures involved and the matters I have outlined, he must come to the conclusion that the Bill is worthy of consideration because we need to tackle the purchasers of these illegal goods. This illicit trade is a huge problem which is costing us millions.

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