Tobacco Smuggling

Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 6 November 2012

Tuesday, 6 November 2012

Ceisteanna (238)

Seán Kyne

Ceist:

238. Deputy Seán Kyne asked the Minister for Finance if Customs and Excise or the Revenue Commissioners have conducted an assessment on the impact the introduction of plain or standardised packaging for cigarettes here would have on the illicit cigarette trade here; if his attention has been drawn to the fact that the Department of Health supports international developments in relation to plain or standardised packaging for tobacco products; if he or his officials or the Revenue Commissioners have participated in any consultation with the Department of Health and the Health Service Executive regarding the proposed EU Tobacco Products Directive; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [48147/12]

Freagraí scríofa

Minister for Finance

The requirements in relation to cigarette packaging are a matter for my colleague the Minister for Health.

I am advised by the Revenue Commissioners that they have not, at this point, conducted a detailed assessment of any impact that the introduction of plain or standardised packaging might have on their work to combat the illicit trade in cigarettes. They will, however, examine the matter further in light of any specific proposals on that issue that may be brought forward in the context of forthcoming proposals for amendment of the EU Tobacco Products Directive. Among the factors to be considered in that context will be the requirement that all cigarettes that are offered for sale in the State must carry a tax stamp containing a range of sophisticated security features designed to prevent counterfeiting. An examination of whether a pack of cigarettes carries a genuine tax stamp is a key means for Revenue officials to distinguish between legal and illegal products, and this will continue to be the case irrespective of the way in which cigarettes are packaged.