Seán Fleming (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I understand the sentiments behind the statement by Senator Maria Byrne. As she is aware, we discussed this a little while ago. There is an EU directive under which the price is set. The price is set by the manufacturer and importer and the retailer has the flexibility to increase the price. However, the day the Senator said it I thought it was a good idea and that there should be scope for those retailers that want to do this. However, I would see this is a health issue, as tobacco is primarily a health issue. The commitment I will give is that I will raise this matter directly with the Minister for Health in order to build this up from a health perspective first.