Vol. 394 No. 4
asked the Minister for Finance if his attention has been drawn to the fact that the retail price differential in a gallon of petrol North and South of the Border is approximately 84p Irish and that this difference is giving rise to a serious increase in cross-Border shopping resulting in heavy financial losses to retail traders in the Border counties.
85.
asked the Minister for Finance if his attention has been drawn to the fact that the price differential in a gallon of petrol North and South of the Border is approximately 84p Irish and that this difference is giving rise to a serious increase in traffic in smuggling; and if he has any plans to remedy this serious situation.
86.
asked the Minister for Finance if his attention has been drawn to the fact that the price differential in a gallon of petrol North and South of the Border is approximately 84p Irish and that this difference is giving rise to serious losses to petrol retailers in the Border counties; and if he has any plans to remedy this serious situation.
87.
asked the Minister for Finance if his attention has been drawn to the fact that the rate of exchange of the Irish punt against sterling has led to a massive increase in the traffic of smuggled goods into the Republic; and if he has any plans to counteract the serious loss of revenue to the Exchequer as a result of this illegal activity.
88.
asked the Minister for Finance if his attention has been drawn to the fact that the rate of exchange of the Irish punt against sterling is giving rise to serious financial losses to retail traders in the Border counties; and if he has any plans to alleviate this serious problem.
89.
asked the Minister for Finance if he is considering any course of action to alleviate the serious losses being experienced by retail traders in Clones, County Monaghan as a result of the unfavourable exchange rate against sterling.
91.
asked the Minister for Finance if his attention has been drawn to the fact that the retail price differential in a gallon of petrol North and South of the Border is approximately 84p Irish and that this difference is giving rise to serious losses of revenue to the Exchequer; and if he has any plans to remedy this serious situation.
I propose to take Questions Nos. 84 to 89, inclusive, and 91 together.
The fall in sterling, which increases the purchasing power of the Irish pound in the North, undoubtedly adds to the incentive to buy petrol and to shop across the Border, particularly at the local level, in areas close to the Border.
I am satisfied that the introduction of the "48-hour rule" has had the desired effect of substantially reducing the volume of shopping generally in Northern Ireland by residents of the Republic. This rule continues, and is being diligently implemented by customs and excise staff.
As regards smuggling, the Revenue Commissioners are satisfied that the intensive surveillance being carried out by customs and excise staff in Border areas is proving to be an effective deterrent against such smuggling. Furthermore, additional measures have been taken recently to strengthen the ability of customs and excise to combat smuggling. These include: the extension of the land frontier zone within which customs and excise officers are entitled to stop and search vehicles from 20 to 40 miles; the introduction of a new distinctive dye and marker for rebated gas oil in order to facilitate the identification of illegally imported supplies; and the introduction of a new licence for petrol dealers, (retailers, wholesalers etc.,) as an aid to combating the smuggling of petrol supplied from Northern Ireland.
The problems about petrol and cross-border activities generally are being taken into account in the ongoing discussions on EC tax harmonisation.
