2025-10-07

I move: (1) THAT for the purposes of the tax charged by virtue of section 72 of the Finance Act 2005 (No. 5 of 2005), that Act be amended, with effect as on and from 8 October 2025, by the substitution of the following for Schedule 2 to that Act (amended by section 70 of the Finance Act 2024 (No. 43 of 2024)): “SCHEDULE 2 RATES OF TOBACCO PRODUCTS TAX (With effect as on and from 8 October 2025) ". (2) IT is hereby declared that it is expedient in the public interest that this Resolution shall have statutory effect under the provisions of the Provisional Collection of Taxes Act 1927 (No. 7 of 1927). Financial resolution No. 1 provides for excise duty increases on tobacco products with effect from midnight tonight. The increase amounts to 50 cent, VAT inclusive, on a pack of 20 cigarettes in the most popular price category together with the pro rata increases for other tobacco products. The price of a pack of 20 cigarettes in the most popular price category, assuming the full increase is passed through to the final retail price, will increase to €18.95. The excise duty component of this price will be €11.33 and the total tax, inclusive of VAT, will be €14.88, which represents approximately 78.51% of the price of a pack of cigarettes. The pro rata increase on the price of a typical pouch of roll-your-own tobacco will increase by 69 cent to €27.66.

On Financial Resolution No. 1, it has got to the point where these increases in the cost of cigarettes are now just vindictive rather than serving any purpose. It certainly does not serve any health purpose. We know that for a number of years, there were substantial reductions in the number of smokers. That has begun to turn around despite the fact that over the past number of years, the price of cigarettes has increased by more than 34% until last year - I do not have the specific figure - taking these new figures into account. The Government's actions, apart from being vindictive, are also counterproductive. They are enticing and encouraging a growing black-market economy. Therefore, when we look at what we should be doing to encourage people to quit smoking, there are better and more effective ways than taking this vindictive action against many people who desperately want to quit and who clearly are not being incentivised by the ever-increasing cost in a packet of cigarettes, but who need supports. That is why last year, for example, I spoke against the Government's decision to increase the cost of vapes and impose a new tax on vapes because, again, it was using a sledgehammer to crack a nut. We want to remove access to vapes from young people, in particular. We want to ensure that people who have never smoked, for example, do not use vapes. However, we should also be supporting mechanisms that actually provide people who are quitting cigarettes with a less dangerous option. It is notable that the only real impact on smokers, for example, from the Government's budget announced today will actually be an increase in their cost of living. There was nothing in today's budget for workers and families who are absolutely crippled by the cost of living and, of course, from midnight tonight, they will see a rise in the cost of driving to work or driving their families in places they need to be, which is essential for anybody who does not have access to public services. Once again, carbon tax means that petrol and diesel prices are going to rise again. Therefore, rather than support families and workers with the cost of living, today's budget is actually going to make people's lives harder. That is particularly prevalent in constituencies like my own. I read through this exact debate from 12 months ago, from 1 October 2024, and I came across some very interesting comments: The increase in carbon tax today further exasperates everyone who has to use a car to go to work, increasing costs for lorries and commercial vehicles and the transporting of food, essential goods and supplies, and the transporting of agricultural products. Passenger bus hire and taxis will also be impacted. The carbon tax is also pricing vehicles off the road.

Is Deputy Carthy dealing with-----

That is the statement from the Minister's Government colleague, Deputy Danny Healy-Rae.

We are talking about cigarettes.

We are talking about the financial resolutions-----

Financial resolution No. 1.

-----and I am putting on the record-----

We are talking about Financial Resolution No. 1.

That is what we are doing.

-----that I will not support a resolution that is making the lives of people more difficult for no purpose other than to serve a stated objective of the Government to give the appearance of doing something. The truth of the matter is that just like today's budget, this financial resolution is not in the interests of the people we were sent here to represent. It is, as I said, a vindictive measure on the part of Government.

We have no issue with the increase in price on tobacco, but it is worth stating on the record in the debate on this financial resolution that 2025 was supposed to the year that the policy target of a tobacco-free Ireland would be met and that tobacco prevalence would be at 5%. It has been a common thread through the last four Governments - this Government and previous governments, with Fine Gael being one of the common threads in the last three Governments alongside Fianna Fáil - that they have failed. We have 18% tobacco prevalence. The impact on our health system is absolutely horrendous. People are getting sick, people are dying, and we are not making any impact in meeting the policy targets of a tobacco-free Ireland. We can continue to tax tobacco budget after budget, and we do not mind that, but we need to see some brave, imaginative, real policy initiatives that are actually going to make a difference in terms of reducing the tobacco prevalence in Ireland. This annual financial resolution alone will not do that. That is a message that needs to be brought home to this Government and to the Minister for Health. They really need to focus on reducing the tobacco prevalence in Ireland and reducing the impact that tobacco-related illnesses are having on people's mortality and on our health system.

Is the motion on Financial Resolution No. 1 agreed?

It is not agreed. Vótail.