A Donegal retailer has warned that many small shops and newsagents will be forced to close unless measures are undertaken to stem the flood of illegal cigarette smuggling and counterfeit substitution in the county.
Donegal Town shop owner, Maurice Timony, believes that unless the issue of tobacco smuggling is addressed, then Donegal is likely to see more and more retailers being forced to close their shutters permanently:.
“There is a very real problem with
tobacco smuggling in this county,” he said.
“Every day genuine retailers who provide a legal product, like cigarettes, are being bypassed with the lure of cheap, counterfeit, unregulated alternatives that are readily available. Counterfeit cigarettes are even coming out of China with the Irish excise stamp and language on them and nobody can be sure of what the actual content is.
“Retailers are being forced to stop trading. The Government must act now if they want to avoid countless retailers across the country being forced to stop trading as the result of tobacco products being sold on the black market.
“The danger facing retailers cannot be ignored any longer. Our livelihoods are under a considerable threat posed by the smuggling tobacco. The average retailer has a very important role to play in society. They do much more than sell confectionary, they act as a focal point for a community; this could be taken away sooner rather than later.”
Mr Timoney cautioned: “I am not advocating smoking but if a person is smoking it is important that it is purchased from a reliable and safe source.”
Paddy Donohue, spokesperson for Retailers against Smuggling group told this newspaper, “In the current economic climate, it seems the Irish Government is ignoring one of the most important sectors in society today, the retailers.
“With Ireland being the most expensive country in the EU for the sale of cigarettes, we are now perceived as being a paradise for international tobacco smugglers.
“The issue of tobacco smuggling is currently one of the major concerns facing the Irish retailer at present. In 2008 Ireland’s retailers lost €487million in turnover due to illicit trade and a further €358million in cross purchases. Over one billion cigarettes were sold by smugglers in the past year, which means that one in five cigarettes in Ireland were smuggled,” he said.
