Cathal Crowe (Clare, Fianna Fail)
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1039. To ask the Minister for Health if smaller and independent shopkeepers will be exempted from the hefty tobacco products licence fees, as per the Public Health (Tobacco Products and Nicotine Inhaling Products) Act 2023, given that currently small shops are obligated to pay the same fees as a large-scale supermarkets; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [23513/25]

Jennifer Carroll MacNeill (Dún Laoghaire, Fine Gael)
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Tobacco use is the leading cause of preventable disease, disability and death in Ireland and is responsible for 4,500 deaths here each year. Smoking related deaths are mainly due to cancers, chronic obstructive pulmonary diseases (COPD) and heart disease. It is the Government’s objective to eliminate tobacco use in order to address the enormous burden of disease that it continues to cause in our population.

The Public Health (Tobacco Products and Nicotine Inhaling Products) Bill was debated and passed in the Oireachtas in 2023. As enacted it provides for an annual licence per outlet for those wishing to sell:

a) tobacco

b) nicotine inhaling products, or

c) tobacco and nicotine inhaling products.

The provisions of the Act relating to the requirement for a licence to sell these products were commenced in December 2024 under the Public Health (Tobacco Products and Nicotine Inhaling Products) Act 2023 (Commencement) (No. 3) Order 2024. The licence fees were set in the Public Health (Tobacco Products and Nicotine Inhaling Products) Act 2023 (Fees) Regulations 2024. As with alcohol licensing, which carries a similar fee and structure, it is a matter for each individual retailer to decide whether or not to sell these products, and to apply for the relevant licence if they choose to do so. The system will come into operation on 2 February 2026.