Black market robbing economy of €1.5bn yearly

The black market is robbing the Irish economy of up to €1.5bn every year, according to new research.

The booming trade is threatening the survival of businesses and depriving the State of much-needed tax revenue, while earning organised crime gangs and terrorist groups hundreds of millions of euro.

A detailed 70-page report, Illicit Trade in Ireland, commissioned by Retail Ireland, broke down the impact on the four main industries affected. It estimated:

- Fuel laundering costs the economy up to €466m per year: €205m from business and €261m from government.

- Illicit tobacco robs the economy of up to €691m annually: €122m from business and €569m from the State.

- Digital piracy costs the economy up to €269m per year: €220m from the industry and €49m from Government.

- Counterfeit pharmaceuticals takes up to €58m from the economy annually, all from the State.

Brendan Foster, of Grant Thornton, which carried out the research, said the scale of the illicit trade was “getting out of control”.

He said the 38c per litre difference between the price of agricultural diesel and motor diesel provided the incentive for organised crime to launder fuel.

The report, launched at a conference yesterday, recommends the same tax rates for both fuels and to offer a rebate to farmers.

Liam Mulcahy of Topaz said the situation had “gone beyond a joke”.

He said there should be a focus on the eight points of entry of agricultural fuel into the country and questioned the 120 “pop-up” stations that had opened selling cheap fuel.

Detective Sergeant Nigel Mulleady of the National Bureau of Criminal Investigation said republicans — current and former — and criminal gangs were attracted by what they perceived as the “low-risk/high-gain” from illicit fuel and tobacco.

John O’Doherty of Microsoft said 34% of software in Ireland was pirated, threatening the 91,000 jobs in high tech and communication industries.

The research estimated up to 7,400 jobs will go by 2015 due to digital piracy. Willie Kavanagh of EMI said that while legal internet downloads was affecting the industry, the bulk of the collapse in the music market was due to illegal downloads.

- Full report on ibec.ie