Black market ‘costs State €860m’

Retail Ireland has told a Dáil committee that full implementation of recommendations it recently made about tackling the black market economy could save the exchequer about €400m to €500m annually, and help create “tens of thousands of jobs” in retail.

Representatives of the Ibec-affiliated industry body and Risk Management International (RMI) told the joint Oireachtas committee on jobs, enterprise, and innovation that cross-department, “whole of Government” support is needed to tackle a problem which is costing the State over €860m per year.

Retail Ireland chairman Frank Gleeson said an equalisation of duty rates between green and road diesel could overnight eradicate much of the €150m being taken away from the exchequer through illegal fuel trading.