Michael Healy-Rae (Kerry, Independent) | Oireachtas source

It has to be stated publicly that the level of increase in illegal cigarette sales throughout the country is absolutely enormous, and I believe that is a direct result of the 50% or 60% increase in taxes that has been put on tobacco products over recent years. I never voted for those increases. Quite simply, I would love to live in a country and a world where nobody smoked. I do not want to see people smoke but, at the same time, I do not agree with penalising people who do smoke and are addicted, whether they cannot stop smoking or do not want to do so, by increasing the cost of their box of cigarettes by 75 cent. In some cases, the only comfort those people might have in this world, or the only thing they might look forward to, is smoking a cigarette. Again, I am not saying we should encourage it, but we should not penalise those people. They might be living on a fixed or low income and the only thing they cherish might be to sit down, mind their own business and smoke a cigarette or a pipe or roll their own. I do not see why we should sit in high judgment of those people and penalise them with additional taxes. I could not agree with that for a multitude of reasons.

I have given an awful lot of time through the former Southern Health Board and the HSE to dealing with psychiatric services over the years. For many people who suffer from different types of ailments, the one thing they might like doing, contrary as it might seem, is smoking a cigarette, and again I do not see why we should inflict this increase on those people. I do not agree with it. We are not far now from a box of cigarettes costing €20, which would equate to €1 per cigarette, and that would be an awful price for somebody to pay. While some might say it helps discourage people, but is it really what is stopping people smoking? I do not think so. I think they might go without something else to be able to smoke their cigarettes. I do not agree with it for a multitude of reasons.

I again point to the increase in the illicit sale of cigarettes in this country. You do not have to be in Dublin for it. They are for sale in every village, town and city and you do not have to travel far to get them.

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