asked the Minister for Industry and Commerce if he is aware that some cigarette retailers are offering their cigarette quotas for sale and that these quotas are being purchased by persons outside the area covered by the quota allocated to the seller, thus diverting supplies, mainly from thickly populated areas; and whether, if he has not already got them, he will take the necessary powers to control this practice.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Sale of Cigarette Quotas.
I do not exercise control in detail over the distribution of cigarettes to traders. The manufacturers and wholesalers are regulating supplies to their customers on a quota basis, and I understand that manufacturers are not prepared to permit a trader to transfer a quota of cigarettes out of a district in which they are intended for sale to the public. Any evidence of irregular transfers of this nature should be brought to the notice of the manufacturers concerned. I do not propose to take any additional powers to deal with the matter.