Billy Kelleher (Cork North Central, Fianna Fail)
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1122. To ask the Minister for Health if the Government has been contacted by the tobacco industry or any of its representatives on the possibility of a joint agreement on the joint use of the industry's Codentify system for the tracing of illegal tobacco; if so, the outcome of any such contact; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [24859/16]

Marcella Corcoran Kennedy (Offaly, Fine Gael)
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I have not been contacted by the tobacco industry or any of its representatives on the possibility of a joint agreement on the joint use of the industry's codentify tracing of illegal tobacco system. The Revenue Commissioners on behalf of the Minister for Finance have informed me that they received communications from the tobacco industry on the implementation of the track and trace provisions of the Tobacco Products Directive and advised them to pursue the matter with my Department which has primary responsibility for implementation of the Directive.

The Tobacco Products Directive (TPD) 2014/40/EU, transposed into Irish legislation by the European Union (Manufacture, Presentation and Sale of Tobacco and Related Products) Regulations 2016 (S.I. No. 271 of 2016) introduces an EU-wide tracking and tracing system and security features for tobacco products which aims to facilitate enforcement and assist authorities and consumers to detect illicit products. The tracking and tracing of tobacco products will be phased in, with cigarettes and roll-your-own tobacco the first required to comply in 2019, followed by all other tobacco products in 2024.

In July 2016, the European Commission launched a public consultation on the implementation of a EU system for traceability and security features pursuant to Articles 15 and 16 of the TPD. The Commission is seeking views on the relevance and impact of the policy options they have outlined in their Inception Impact Assessment.

In particular the consultation aims to:

- gain insight into which policy options are capable of fulfilling the TPD requirements whilst at the same time imposing least burden on stakeholders concerned;

- gain realistic estimations of the financial impact of the envisaged policy options on stakeholders;

- gain insight into the impact of the envisaged policy options on SMEs; and

- seek the feedback of consumers regarding aspects of particular relevance for them.

The submissions received by the Commission will provide important input for the ongoing implementation work on a future EU system for traceability and security features, and will feed into the preparation of the legislative acts.