I speak on behalf of the small convenience store, often the only store now in every village in rural Ireland. I want to raise serious concerns about the new tobacco and vaping licence fee due this month. What was a once-off fee of €50 is now a combined annual fee of €1,800. That is a 3,500% increase and 36 times higher than what it previously was. I understand the public health issue at the heart of this, but the fact that the small convenience store must pay the same as the big players in the market - the Tesco and Dunnes Stores of this world - is very unfair. The average licence fee across the US, the southern hemisphere and the European Union is €250. I ask the Taoiseach to urgently review this fee as it applies to the small retailer and to apply the SME test.

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