Retailers Against Smuggling has expressed disappointment at the latest headline figures from the Revenue Commissioners, which show a sharp decline in both the volume and value of cigarette and tobacco seizures in 2025 compared with 2024.
With the Dublin Airport passenger cap being removed later this year, RAS warned that tobacco smuggling will increase unchecked.
Revenue’s Illegal Tobacco Products Research Survey 2024 found that over one third of cigarette packs (37%) in circulation carried no Irish excise duty, either because they were illicit or purchased outside the State. This marks an increase from 34% in 2023. When Roll-Your-Own tobacco is included, total estimated tax losses from tobacco products reached €934 million in 2024.
Key findings drawn from Revenue’s Headline Results for 2025 include:
- Cigarette seizure volumes plummeted by 58%, dropping from 112 million cigarettes to only 47 million;
- The value of cigarette seizures fell by 55%, from approximately €96 million in 2024 to €43 million in 2025;
- In total, €63 million worth of illegal tobacco products were seized in 2025 – a 51% year-on-year decrease compared to 2024, when a record €128 million worth of illegal tobacco was seized;
- The 2025 seizure value mirrors levels seen in 2023, when seizures also totalled €63 million, indicating a return to pre-2024 enforcement outcomes.
Seizures are barely scratching the surface of smuggled tobacco products entering Ireland. The comparisons are based on Revenue’s Headline Results publications for 2023, 2024 and 2025.
Retailers Against Smuggling National Spokesperson Benny Gilsenan said, “The value of seizures is nowhere near reflective of reality. Smuggled tobacco continues to flood Ireland’s black market, and the problem is worsening.
The new duty-free regulations alone are not enough. Revenue enforcement officers need to conduct more checks at ports and airports. Most critically, Revenue needs to hire more enforcement officers to match the growth in passenger arrivals in Ireland’s airports and ports, which are up 25% and 1.2% respectively from 2022 to 2024. We can reasonably expect passenger figures to increase in 2025 and 2026, and duty-free purchases to skyrocket as the passenger cap at Dublin Airport is set to be removed this year. Without stronger enforcement, illicit tobacco sales will continue to soar.”
Retailers Against Smuggling has called for increased resources to combat the growing illicit tobacco market, while warning that a focus on large-scale seizures must be matched by more routine passenger searches at ports and airports. Inadequate checks and enforcement mean passengers can arrive with substantial quantities of non-duty-paid cigarettes, which are subsequently sold illegally in communities across Ireland. This undermines legitimate retailers and deprives the Exchequer of vital tax revenue.