Brendan Smith warns of cross-border smuggling and illicit trade

Minister, you may recall that I continually table questions on a fairly regular basis in regard to the need to ensure that the statutory agencies have the resources and have the tools available to them to deal with illicit trade and also cross-border smuggling. Sadly, despite all the good measures and the good work of our statutory agencies at local level, there is still a substantial illegal trade happening. So, Minister, I would ask that we be vigilant at all times and that we introduce new measures, if needed, to counteract such illicit behaviour by gangsters and criminal gangs. Thank you. Thank you very much. I'm assured by the revenue that combating the threats which fuel fraud on the illicit alcohol and tobacco trade poses to legitimate businesses, consumers and the exchequer continues to be a priority. Steps taken by revenue to combat the illegal mineral oil trade, including home heating oils, including the introduction of stringent supply chain controls and reporting requirements, a rigorous program of risk-focused enforcement action and the application of robust legislation. In addition, revenue and the UK Revenue and Customs undertook a joint initiative to introduce a new marker for use in marked fuels, which came into operation April of 2015. The view of industry is, I believe, that the actions taken have been successful in curtailing fuel fraud. Solid fuel carbon tax is an excise duty that applies to coal and peace when first supplied in the state for use as a fuel. Neither the movement of solid fuel into the state nor the physical presence of solid fuel in the state generates a liability to solid fuel carbon tax. Therefore, there is no smuggling offence in terms of evasion of SFCT attached to coal coming into the state from Northern Ireland. It's collected by revenue on a self-assessment basis and compliance with the law is enforced using the full range of compliance interventions and enforcement provisions for self-assessed taxes. I am advised that an SFCT compliance module has been included in revenue's ongoing mineral oil tax national compliance project. And I am well aware of the importance of this matter and all of the work that goes on between the revenue and Angarda Siokana to deal with the really serious issues that Deputy Smith has persistently raised with me on behalf of this constitution. Thank you, Deputy Smith, one minute. Deputy Smith, one minute. Deputy Smith, one minute. I thank the Minister for his reply. Minister, I want to take the opportunity to compliment members of Angarda Siokana, the revenue commissioners and other statutory agencies, local authorities, who have had to deal with these thugs and criminal gangs over the years. They are a very sophisticated outfit and I know there has been very good work done but I think we need to be vigilant. Our measures and our legislation regulations need to be monitored, they need to be reviewed because we know things move on with technology etc. Minister, it's a bit of a misnomer to use the word self-assessment in regard to smugglers. I know what type of self-assessment they do. Minister, there will be an additional problem after the 1st of May in that our carbon tax, an extra carbon tax here on smokeless and smoky coal. There will be a big differential between the price charged by the legitimate business in our state in comparison to what is being charged north of the border. And I see those depots right along the border. So Minister, I spoke to some of the people, small and medium enterprises who are working extremely hard to survive. They are at their wits end in regard to the uncompetitive environment that they are working in trying to deal with imports of much cheaper product from Northern Ireland. So Minister, I would like if your officials could take an extra look at that post the 1st of May. Minister. Thank you. Again, I just want to assure the Deputy that all that can be done is being done by the Guards, their counterparts and by revenue in relation to this matter. I know that the change in carbon taxing, which will be happening again in May, will have an impact in the differentials that Deputy Smith is referring to. But the change in the differentials that can be the cause of the smuggling that he's raising with me is, I think, a minor change which can be attributed to putting up carbon pricing in May. I know it is a change, but I don't believe of itself it is going to be a contributor to some of the issues that the Deputy is referring to. To give an example of the kind of work that is underway in relation to, for example, the seizure of cigarettes and other tobacco across 2020. goods to the value of €36.9 million were seized by the Revenue Commissioner. And I am advised that at the beginning of this year, revenue have participated in a number of joint operations within low smoke zones to deal with some of the issues the Deputy has raised. Thank you. Deputy Smith. I thank the Minister indeed. Minister, for some time I had advocated more cross border agency work, a joint approach by the police force, by the Revenue Commissioners. And that's happening and that's welcome. And again, I take the opportunity to compliment the officials at local level who are dealing with this. But Minister, there is a trade going on out there. And I speak to small scale traders, legitimate businesses, who dutifully pay all their taxes and their dues to this state. They are getting it hard to survive. So I just want to put the message that we have to be constantly vigilant and attention to this matter. And again, if there are extra resources or extra powers needed for the local, for the statutory agencies, they should be given to them. And at times, Minister, there are extra demands put on our local authorities to do extra inspections and that, without the additional resources. That happened last year in regard to the smokeless fuel and monitoring it. So the local authorities have got no resources to carry out their statutory obligations. So that type of thing might be looked at in overall context. The resources are being made available, in particular to the Revenue Commissioner, to deal with the issues that Deputy Smith is referring to. As I mentioned a moment ago to Deputy Smith, the work that has now been done by the Revenue Commissioner in the joint operations that they are conducting within low smoke zones, is collaborating with the Department of Environment and is collaborating with local authority, solid fuel inspection teams, with a view to checking compliance with the important taxes in this area. And if Deputy Smith is aware of any particular issues in relation to additional resources that needed to be provided to enhance this work, I'm sure he will let me know. You know, I look at, for example, the number of seizures that have happened, but for example, to the relation to oil. And I know it's different to what the Deputy is raising with me, but there were 601 different activities by the Revenue Commissioner across 2020 alone. This is really seriously, it's been a serious matter and it's been taken very seriously by the Revenue Commissioner and by the Government. Huh? I'm conscious . I'm conscious .