merrion street

Minister of State Brian Hayes speaking at the conference

Minister of State Brian Hayes today opened the Illicit Trade conference hosted by Grant Thornton.

The Minister said :

I would like to thank Grant Thornton for the opportunity to address this gathering on illicit trade. And also to acknowledge their contribution to this important area, one which crosses all sectors and touches all parts of business and society.

This Government recognises that the main areas of shadow economy activities include:

· Cash economy practices

· Oil laundering.

· Tobacco smuggling, and

· Counterfeiting or other abuses of IP rights.

These nefarious activities not only result in substantial losses to the Exchequer, but also negatively impact on legitimate businesses as regards competitiveness, sustainability and long term job creation.