Eamonn Maloney (Dublin South West, Labour)
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183. To ask the Minister for Health if Ireland will ratify the World Health Organisation illicit trade protocol; the status of the negotiations on this issue; the Government Departments involved in the negotiations; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [26449/15]

Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael)
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The WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) treaty was ratified by the State in November 2005. Ireland is a strong advocate of the FCTC and is fully committed to its implementation. The Protocol to Eliminate Illicit Trade in Tobacco Products was adopted in November 2012 and is the first protocol to the World Health Organisation Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (WHO FCTC). The Protocol was signed by Ireland’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations in New York on 20 December 2013 and it is the intention to ratify the Protocol.

The objective of the Protocol is to eliminate all forms of illicit trade in tobacco products. The Protocol requires Parties to take measures to control the supply chain of tobacco products effectively and to cooperate internationally on a wide range of matters, including information sharing, administrative and legal assistance and extradition. Given the mixed competencies outlined in the Protocol, discussions at national and European levels are in process in order to progress to the formal ratification of the Protocol.