John McGahon (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Chair for welcoming my guests from County Louth. It is fortuitous that I happen to be speaking in the Seanad at the same time that they are here, and there are three or four tours coming after them as well, given we have such a good group up.

I have spoken to quite a number of retailers and shopkeepers, not just in my home town of Dundalk but throughout County Louth. Some of the aspects of this Bill are certainly a concern for them and they wanted me to raise them directly with the Minister. I have four points or questions which the Minister may be able to elaborate on in his contribution to the House.

The first issue that people have spoken to me about is the cost of licences. Shop owners have stressed to me the importance of the licence fee covering the cost of administering the licence only and that it does not become a de facto sales tax, for want of a better term. Can the Minister provide information on how the licence fee will be decided? That would be useful to know.

In terms of the sale of the bigger boxes of cigarettes, the Revenue Commissioners’ figures show that the sale of large boxes has increased year on year since their introduction in 2012, nearly a decade ago. This accounts for 35% of all cigarette sales on the island of Ireland. New research also shows that the bigger boxes are, naturally enough, the driver of greater consumption.That is completely contrary to Government policy and has a direct negative consequence for addiction and health outcomes in Ireland. The question I have on that is whether the Minister will consider banning bigger boxes of cigarettes so we have some chance of meeting our targets to eliminate smoking by 2025 and thereafter.

On the third aspect, many shop owners in Dundalk said the same thing to me, namely, there is certainly a role for the Revenue Commissioners in this process. They collect the licence fees from many different commercial sources, and I wonder whether the Minister has considered allowing them to administer this licence themselves, rather than the HSE. The Revenue Commissioners, given their role, already have an established relationship with businesses, so they could roll it out much more easily. It is something that would be really useful.

The final point raised with me was shop closures. In the event of a shop closing for whatever specific reason, or if it is transferred through a sale, will the Department of Health allow for a pro ratarefund of the licence fee for the time period it was not in use?

I have brought those four queries to the Minister directly from retailers in County Louth. I am glad I had the opportunity to put them on the record of the House. I would appreciate replies to them not in the Minister's response to the debate, but perhaps in writing at some stage in the future.