Statement by Minister Harris on Budget 2027.

Tobacco: Smoking continues to kill many Irish people every year. It is important that we continue to discourage and dissuade people, particularly younger people from smoking. I am therefore increasing the excise duty on a pack of 20 cigarettes by €1, with a pro-rata increase on other tobacco products. I am also increasing the duty on e-liquid products by 20 cents per millilitre.

Rural pubs: Ceann Comhairle, rural pubs are at the heart of many local communities, providing a place where families, friends and neighbours can come together. Supporting our local pub helps keep an important part of rural life alive, while also supporting local jobs and the wider community. They are also key small and medium businesses hiring thousands of people around the country, including young people. Today, I am announcing €15 million to keep our pub doors open. Over the next number of weeks, Minister for Enterprise Peter Burke and I will develop a scheme which will help assist our publicans...

Budget 2027 Expenditure Report

P.101 Vote 9 – Revenue Commissioners Selected Measures  Programme A – Administration and Collection of Taxes, Duties and Frontier Management: Collect the taxes and duties that account for over 90% of Exchequer revenue, and to reduce outstanding tax debt. Implement customs controls, including facilitation of legitimate trade and the interdiction of drugs and other illegal substances. Allocation for 2027 €million €684.448  

P. 194 Table 4: Selected Expenditure Measures for 2027 - Social Inclusion, National Drugs Strategy, Community Health & Wellbeing Expand community drug and alcohol services and prevention initiatives under the National Drugs Strategy and expand social inclusion and health & wellbeing services in areas such as the Healthy Communities programme, homelessness supports, sexual health measures including STI testing and 36 the HIV Action Plan, Tobacco Free Ireland 2035, women’s sheds, male pelvic cancer survivorship, other social inclusion and health prevention measures. Allocation for 2027 € million 36

P.221 Vote 14 – State Laboratory Efficiencies and Reforms to be delivered in 2027 Improvements to the Forensic Analytical and Toxicology Service A new service will be in place in 2027 that will analyse the most commonly seen drugs and will have a significantly shorter turnaround time than the existing service. Clients will be able to choose between the existing more comprehensive service and the new service...

P.318 Programmes under which the Subheads for this Vote will be accounted for by the Office of the Minister for Health - B.3 -DRUGS INITIATIVE (figures provided in table).