Tobacco Control Measures Seanad Éireann — 2026-05-06 ============================================================ Robbie Gallagher (FF), Labour Panel Cuirim fáilte roimh an Aire Stáit. I welcome the Minister of State, Deputy Murnane O'Connor, to the House this afternoon. The licensing fees for selling tobacco and nicotine products in Ireland are increasing dramatically to an annual system under the Public Health (Tobacco Products and Nicotine Inhaling Products) Act 2023. Up until this point, tobacco retailers faced a one-time fee of €50 per annum, and there were no licensing requirements for selling vapes. The new fees that apply per premises for tobacco products only have now increased to €1,000 per annum, and for nicotine-inhaling products like vapes it is €800 per annum, giving a combined fee of €1,800 if any retailer was to sell both, which is a sizable amount of money. Obviously these higher fees are aimed, I would imagine, at reducing the number of outlets selling tobacco and vapes, and particularly to reduce youth access to them. Retailers selling products before 2 February this year have six months to apply for a new licence. The HSE can suspend or revoke licences and the enforcement authority can publicly name the businesses convicted of such offences. We all know the history of the tobacco industry and the lethality of smoking but there is an issue of fairness here with regard to the impact that this new measure will have on small family-run businesses. This new measure will affect all shops selling these products, including individual outlets with larger chains, and the licence will require annual renewal. The thing is that small local shops are expected to pay the same cost as larger retailers, which I feel is unfair. In the current economic climate, small shops are already struggling and many cannot afford this additional €1,800 annual cost. I would imagine that many small corner shops that I am aware of, and I am sure the Minister of State is too, would not make €1,000 profit in selling cigarettes in five years, never mind one year. Many people will simply go to large retailers if they cannot purchase cigarettes from their small local shops. This change signifies a more robust approach to the regulation of tobacco and nicotine-inhaling products, which is a good thing, and it emphasises the Government's commitment to public health and consumer safety. It is also important, however, to consider the broader implications, particularly for many small retailers. The Convenience Stores and Newsagents Association, CSNA, which represents retailers of all sizes, from independent shops to multi-franchise owners, has expressed its concern at the new combined €1,800 annual licensing fee that will come as a shock to many tobacco retailers in the convenience, forecourt and newsagent sectors. These are the small sectors I am referring to. For myself, living in a Border county, we all know that our neighbours in Northern Ireland do not charge a licensing fee and we feel this will result in leakage of potential business from small retailers along the Border area into Northern Ireland, not just for the product that we are talking about here today but, indeed, will result in other products being sold as well and a loss of business there too. The Minister of State will be aware there is a lot of pressure on small businesses at the moment, so it is important to ensure that the new licensing system does not put an unfair burden on small shops. The overwhelming majority of retailers in Ireland have a responsible attitude in selling gated products like vapes and take it very seriously. I would welcome the Minister of State's comments on the matter. --- Source: Houses of the Oireachtas. Licensed under CC BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). The Official Report is revised after first publication; the fetch timestamp below identifies the version quoted. Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/seanad/2026-05-06/debate/main Retrieved: 2026-08-14T04:54:54+00:00 Sitting date: 2026-05-06