New report demonstrates the extent of tobacco smuggling in Ireland
NFRN says current slap-on-the-wrist fines are making a mockery of the law
Print25 July 2013
A new report into the illegal smuggling of tobacco in Ireland has been published. The study, conducted by Italian-based researchers Transcrime, reveals that Ireland has the third highest rate of tobacco smuggling in Europe, estimated at between 13% and 29% of all tobacco products. The report entitled Factbook on the Illicit Trade in Tobacco Product (ITTP) said high cigarette prices, inadequate penalties for offenders and easy access for suppliers are all contributing to a loss of revenue to the state of between €200 million and €250 million on an annual basis.
The National Federation of Retail Newsagents (NFRN) Ireland welcomed the publication of the report saying that it supports what the organisation has been saying for years: that illicit tobacco is easy to find in Ireland and that the law and its enforcement are too weak to deter the criminal gangs and paramilitaries who run the trade. NFRN president Joe Sweeney said: "This new report is yet more solid external evidence that the government is missing the point on the illegal cigarette trade. NFRN Ireland strongly believes that the government has a duty to protect retailers from criminal activities. Instead, Minister Reilly will introduce plain packaging to Ireland next year which make life easier for the counterfeiters and put a further squeeze on independent retailers up and down the country."
NFRN Ireland welcomed the Revenue Commissioners’ seizures of illicit cigarettes in recent weeks. The group says that the scale of seizures suggest that far more contraband is getting through for sale on the black market. Trade surveys show that between one quarter and one third of cigarettes in Ireland are not duty-paid here. "Irish retailers are already being forced to let go 700 staff a year in Ireland due to the impact of black market tobacco and now Minister Reilly wants to compound this problem. We are calling on the Minister to listen to the new evidence put forward by Transcrime and for Ireland to follow the example set by Prime Minster Cameron in putting England’s plans for plain packaging on ice until we know how it will impact on the retail sector," Sweeney commented.
Deputy Damien English, the chairman of the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation said the "man on the street" who buys illegal cigarettes does not understand the implications of such behaviour. Deputy English said some smokers on low family budgets feel justified in paying €3 or €4 for illegal cigarettes when a packet of 20 are almost €10 each. However, he said numerous public meetings across the country had demonstrated that tobacco smuggling was doing "immeasurable damage" to the retail trade in Ireland. He described it as a "multi-million euro, global criminal and paramilitary run racket which is making huge profits for those behind it". The Oireachtas committee is due to issue a report in September outlining how it sees the problem of tobacco smuggling.
Deputy English said he had already met Minister for Finance Michael Noonan in relation to tobacco smuggling and tackling it should start with the forthcoming budget. He recommended that more resources should be allocated to the Revenue Commissioners and, if necessary, that should include asking the tobacco manufacturers and retailers to fund more scanners at ports and airports.
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