Dee Ryan (Fianna Fail)
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Cuirim fáilte ar ais roimh an Aire Stáit. Gabhaim buíochas leis as teacht isteach sa Teach seo chun mo cheist a fhreagairt.

I would like to raise an issue that was brought to my attention by the proprietor of my local grocery story in the village in County Limerick that I am from. This person is the third generation of their family to run the local grocery store in the village. This person is well respected and, indeed, is an integral part of our village life and community. George Lee, the independent grocer, brought to my attention that the Minister for Health, Deputy Carroll MacNeill, is proposing to introduce in February of next year an annual licensing fee for the sale of tobacco and nicotine inhaling products. Will the Minister for Health consider a derogation for small grocery stores and small retailers in consideration of the significant cost increases they have experienced in recent years?

It is worth restating those cost increases. They have seen increases in lighting and heating bills, in insurance costs, in the minimum wage and in their basic inputs, the stock that they are buying in to sell on. All of these increases have put a significant squeeze on the very small profit margin these businesses are operating with. Indeed, these same businesses, as the Minister of State will remember, remained open to serve all of us during Covid. They were deemed essential services and did not close but persevered through the years of the lockdowns to ensure that communities like mine and that of the Minister of State, and communities throughout the country, were able to access the goods and groceries they required.

These businesses have faced a perfect storm in recent years.The storm is not over yet because the Minister is proposing to introduce a licence fee of €1,000 per year to sell tobacco and €800 per year to sell nicotine-inhaling products, or vapes. That is regardless of the size of a premises, turnover or footfall. It is a blanket charge that is, in effect, a further tax and cost to small, independent grocers throughout the country. While the Government is rightly trying to drive down demand for these products, they are not profitable in their own rights. They are loss leaders and footfall drivers for businesses that are trying to sell other products.

We have heard a lot over recent weeks in the lead up to the budget about how important coffee shops were to rural communities throughout the countries and how important small restaurants were to small towns. There was a grocer, a local corner shop, in my village for a hundred years ever before we had a coffee shop and I can tell you that the loss of that grocery store would be as keenly felt as anything else in the fabric of our village. Will the Minister for Health consider a derogation, an exemption, for small groceries and retail businesses around the country from this new licence fee?

Garret Ahearn (Fine Gael)
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Before the Minister of State responds, I welcome guests of Deputy Edward Timmins from Wicklow - Annamoe, I believe. I hope they have an enjoyable day and I wish them well.

Niall Collins (Limerick County, Fianna Fail)
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The Minister for Health has asked me to thank Senator Ryan for raising this matter. I am sure the Senator and the House are aware the measure she has raised is currently the subject of judicial review proceedings and on that basis it is incumbent on all of us to respect the work the court has to do and be circumspect in our discussion about it. Any call for the Minister to make any further decision is also pending the backdrop of the judicial review.

There are some aspects of the issue we can be very direct about. One of these is that we are in the year 2025 and, despite the time that has elapsed since it was recognised as a lethal product, combustible tobacco is still killing a large number of our population every day. Medical evidence shows that approximately 12 people among our family, friends, neighbours and communities die every day from tobacco smoking in Ireland in 2025. Tobacco smoking is both addictive and lethal. There is scientific consensus that smoking kills at least one out of every two smokers. According to international analysis, smoking is the risk factor that drives the most death and disability combined in Ireland. In addition to the death toll, combustible tobacco products also cause a vast range of illnesses, including chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, peripheral arterial disease, diabetes, stroke and 16 types of cancer. The World Health Organization has estimated that 14% of Alzheimer's disease cases worldwide are attributable to smoking. When our young people smoke, there are additional risks to them. Smoking during childhood and adolescence causes both reduced lung function and impaired lung growth.

The licensing system, which the Senator has raised, relates to the retail sale of tobacco products and also of nicotine-inhaling products such as e-cigarettes. In relation to nicotine-inhaling products, there remains an absence of scientific consensus on their possible health harms. However, it is generally agreed that nicotine inhaling products are not harmless, but that they are less harmful than tobacco products. It is also generally agreed that further research is needed to establish possible long-term health effects of these products. The Health Research Board reviewed the evidence on e-cigarettes in October 2020. It found that, for adolescents, the use of e-cigarettes is associated with an increased likelihood of smoking. In addition, the World Health Organization has recommended since July 2014 that sales of e-cigarettes to minors be prohibited as there is sufficient evidence of the potential for adolescent nicotine exposure to have long-term consequences for brain development.

It is in this context that the Public Health (Tobacco Products and Nicotine Inhaling Products) Act 2023 was developed. The primary policy objective of the Act is to reduce the health harms of smoking through reducing the use of tobacco products and nicotine-inhaling products, primarily by young people. This objective fulfils two overarching principles of our national tobacco control policy, tobacco-free Ireland. These are the protection of children and the denormalisation of smoking. The Act was designed to achieve this objective through a suite of measures that addressed each phase of the sale of these products, including the licensing of retailers, the regulation of sale and the strengthening of enforcement. The measures in the Act include the licensing of the retail sale of tobacco products and nicotine-inhaling products, the introduction of additional restrictions on the sale of both types of product and restrictions on the advertising of nicotine inhaling products. The important provision prohibiting the sale of nicotine-inhaling products to a child into effect on 22 December 2023. The sale of both types of products by a child is prohibited except in very limited circumstances. The sale of both types of products by self-service, for example through self-service vending machines, is prohibited. That measure came into effect last month. The sale of both types of products at events for children in prohibited. The advertising of nicotine inhaling products around schools and on public transport is prohibited. The advertising of nicotine-inhaling products in cinemas is restricted.

The final group of measures in the Act are those which provide additional enforcement powers to the national environmental health service of the HSE which is the enforcement authority for the 2023 Act and previous tobacco control Acts.

Dee Ryan (Fianna Fail)
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I acknowledge all of the actions the Minister of State listed that Government is taking to drive down the sale of cigarettes but I question whether this measure will achieve that aim. From discussing the issue with other retailers, it seems to me this will be successful in driving the sale of cigarettes and vapes underground and further into the black market, which is thriving in this regard. Regrettably, it is my view that this measure, should it be introduced without a derogation for small businesses, will be a further nail in the coffin for independent retailers who are struggling in what is already a very difficult and challenging trading environment. I ask the Minister of State to pass on to the Minister of Health, Deputy Carroll MacNeill, the need to examine this issue for small grocery stores.

Niall Collins (Limerick County, Fianna Fail)
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I absolutely understand the points Senator Ryan is making in relation to small retail and grocery shops, which are the lifeblood of many local communities, as we know. They are under pressure, as the Senator has outlined, on many fronts in terms of their viability and sustainability within our communities. Like our post office networks, it is important that people shop local and support their local shops and enterprises inasmuch as possible. The request she has made is a fair and measured one in terms of the backdrop of viability and sustainability, particularly of the smaller shops. The points the Senator made about the potential licence fee vis-à-vis the turnover of some enterprises is also a point that has merit and requires examination. I will pass on the Senator's' request to the Minister for Health to have this matter examined once the judicial review proceedings have been exhausted.