Budget 2023 has confirmed yet another unwelcome change for smokers with the price of cigarettes rising once again by 50 cent for a pack of 20.
The new duty will bring the price of a pack of 20 up to €15.50, while other tobacco products will also see a pro-rata increase. Finance Minister Paschal Donohoe explained that he was working with public health to try and reduce the prevalence of smoking in Irish society.
Minister Donohoe delivered Budget 2023 in a joint announcement with Minister for Public Expenditure Michael McGrath in the Dail this afternoon. The Fine Gael TD said: "If you are an older person, you are having to spend more of your pension on heating your home; if you are looking after a family, you are facing higher grocery bills; if you are running a small business, you are trying to cope with increases in the cost of energy.
Read more: Budget 2023: Full list of measures confirmed to tackle cost of living crisis
"This is why, Budget 2023, presented by Minister (Michael) McGrath and I today, is and must be a cost-of-living budget, focused on helping individuals, families and businesses to deal with rising prices. The onset of the war in Ukraine has sent shockwaves throughout the global economy. This shock is most clearly evident in energy and commodity markets, where prices surged at the onset of the war and have remained high.
"The inflationary pressures from energy have been further compounded by the imbalance between demand and supply that emerged as the economy reopened at the start of the year. Consumers released substantial pent-up demand as restrictions were eased, while supply chain bottlenecks prevented firms from keeping up with that demand."
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