Vol. 471 No. 1
50 Miss de Valera asked the Minister for Finance whether the prices of spirits, wine, beer, cigarettes, tobacco, petrol, diesel, gas, oil and heavy fuel oil will reduce when excise duty harmonisation within the EU is completed; if so, when this is likely to occur; and if he will quantify the expected loss of excise duty revenue to the Exchequer. [16735/96]
Ireland is bound by definitive harmonised EU rules for the production, holding and movement of excisable goods in the Community and by harmonised EU rules governing the structure of excise duties and the minimum rates which member states must apply, in particular to tobacco, hydrocarbons and alcoholic drink. The duties levied on a wide range of excisable goods in the State are above the permissible EU minima and it is unlikely that these duties will reduce with further harmonisation.
