Emer Currie (Dublin West, Fine Gael)
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364. To ask the Minister for Finance if the Revenue Commissioners will amend the current contract with its suppliers of unique identifier codes for tobacco products in order to introduce provisions for emergency ordering of unique identifier codes; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [63461/25]

Paschal Donohoe (Dublin Central, Fine Gael)
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Smoking is Ireland’s leading cause of preventable death, and the Government is committed to reducing smoking prevalence in Ireland, especially among younger people. We pursue this public health policy objective on a whole-of-Government basis through strategies across a range of policy areas, including taxation, and through the control of tobacco product movement, including through implementation of tobacco traceability.

Article 15 of the Tobacco Product’s Directive (Directive 2014/40/EU) requires all unit packets of tobacco products placed on the market within the EU to carry a unique identifier. Commission Implementing Regulation 2018/574 on technical standards for a traceability system for tobacco products prescribes details regarding such requirements. As part of the EU-wide system for Tobacco Traceability and Security Features (TSF) system, each Member State is obliged to adopt suitable arrangements, including appointing an issuer for the unique identifiers, known as the ID Issuer.

Ireland’s approach to TSF is governed by legislation that comes under the ambit of my colleague the Minister for Health, and Revenue is designated under that legislation as Ireland’s competent authority for implementing the system. As part of its role, Revenue appoints a third-party service provider to issue the unique identifiers used as part of the TSF system. Following a competitive tendering process earlier this year, a new party commenced in the ID issuer role with effect from 28 May 2025, upon expiry of the previous contractual arrangements.

The EU legislation specifies precise rules regarding the requesting and issuing of unique identifiers, including that the ID Issuer shall, within two working days from receipt of the request, generate the ID codes and provide them electronically to the requesting manufacturer or importer. Revenue’s contract with the new ID Issuer requires adherence to this 2-day delivery timeframe, which is the same requirement as existed under Revenue’s contract with the previous ID Issuer.

I understand that Revenue received representations last week from the tobacco industry requesting Revenue to change its contract in order to allow arrangements for quicker issuing of unique identifiers when this is required by industry.

Revenue does not, itself, currently have a need to change the contract provisions on this matter nor does it see that the public interest regarding the control of tobacco products would be better served by the introduction of a contractual change to allow that – where required by the tobacco industry – unique identifiers would be issued by the third-party ID Issuer more quickly than the two-working-day timeframe that is stipulated in the EU legislation and which is the basis of the existing contractual arrangements.

Revenue is conscious of the Guidance for Public Representatives and Officials on Interaction with the Tobacco Industry issued by the Department of Health. The guidance was prepared to support public officials and others in observing Ireland’s legally binding obligation, as a party to the World Health Organisation’s Framework Convention on Tobacco Control, to ensure that –

“in setting and implementing ... public health policies with respect to tobacco control ...[they] act to protect these policies from commercial and other vested interests of the tobacco industry...”.

The guidance acknowledges that Revenue is required, in the course of its work, to interact with the tobacco industry. The guidance also makes clear that the tobacco industry – including business groups representing the tobacco industry or others with a commercial interest in the sale of tobacco or who further the interests of the industry – cannot be treated in the same way as other industries, as its products kill two out of three long-term users and there is a history of industry interference to influence and undermine tobacco control policy.