989. Deputy Malcolm Byrne asked the Minister for Health if consideration will be given to basing the cost of the licence to sell cigarettes, currently at €1,000 on the volume of cigarettes sold; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [9274/26]

Jennifer Carroll MacNeill, Minister for Health: The requirement for a licence to sell tobacco and nicotine-inhaling products, as set out in The Public Health (Tobacco Products and Nicotine Inhaling Products) Act 2023 came into effect on the 2nd of February 2026.

This licencing system fulfils the legislative commitments made in Tobacco Free Ireland and is intended to contribute to improvement of the enforcement of tobacco control and related law as well as reflect the seriousness of the harms caused by tobacco compared to other products.

Consultation on this 2023 legislation took place in 2014 and 2015 with interested stakeholders, including retailers. Retailer submissions to the consultation proposed that the fee be proportionate by either number of outlets or volume of sales. Following consideration of all suggestions, the General Scheme of the Bill and accompanying Regulatory Impact Analysis were published in 2019 with a proposal to set an annual fee per outlet.

Pre-legislative scrutiny from 2021 to 2022 was conducted by the Oireachtas Health Committee, who held sessions with stakeholders from public health, retail and industry, and received further written submissions from stakeholders such as retail organisations before issuing their recommendations for the legislation.

The final Bill was debated and passed in the Oireachtas in 2023. The Act provides for an annual licence per outlet for those wishing to sell:

1. a) tobacco
2. b) nicotine inhaling products, or
3. c) tobacco and nicotine inhaling products.

The Act provides that the Minister for Health may set a fee for each of the three licence categories by Regulation. Those fees were set in the Public Health (Tobacco Products and Nicotine Inhaling Products) Act 2023 (Fees) Regulations 2024.

Tobacco use is the leading cause of preventable disease, disability and death in Ireland and is responsible for 4,500 deaths here each year. Smoking related deaths are mainly due to cancers, chronic obstructive pulmonary diseases (COPD) and heart disease. It is the Government’s objective to eliminate tobacco use in order to address the enormous burden of disease that it continues to cause in our population.

Replies to Questions Nos. 990 to 1016 not received.