Feargal Quinn (Independent)

Last week I referred to the question of illicit cigarettes being imported into Ireland. The figures were startling as far as I was concerned but my attention has now been drawn to new figures. Today, PJ Carroll & Company Ltd announced some job losses but did not say that this was due to a reduction in consumption. Apparently there has been an increase in consumption of cigarettes, which we do not applaud. There is an increase in the importation of counterfeit cigarettes, not just smuggled cigarettes. These are cleverly designed in Asia and the packets contain the Irish tax stamp and a health warning on the back as Gaeilge. This is a highly professional importation of counterfeit cigarettes that contain products different to normal tobacco. These are very unhealthy compared to normal tobacco. The Garda Síochána is very committed to doing something about this and has had some recent successes but it has not been given the resources to combat this. I gather the Garda Síochána has one scanner that can identify what is inside a truck and if the scanner is known to be in Rosslare those who are importing cigarettes elsewhere can proceed.

The other area drawn to my attention concerned the trivial sentences imposed. The State loses some €500 million to €750 million yet those charged, who may not be high-powered gangsters in the operation, face trivial fines of €400 when a fine of €1 million is required. This is important and we should do something about it.

I was disappointed to hear the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources, Deputy Ryan, saying we should not even discuss genetically modified food. I hope this is a correct reflection of what he said. The world must produce much more food in the future and this is Ireland's strength. We should be able to debate it and discuss whether crop productivity can be improved with science. If so, we should debate it rather than saying it is not open for discussion. I request a debate on this in the near future.