From dodgy boxes to illegal cigarettes: One in four Irish people say they buy black market products

The findings highlight the widespread use of illegal black market products in this country. The unregulated and untaxed items being bought include dodgy box subscriptions, coal, drugs, medicines, alcohol, vaping products and cigarettes and rolling tobacco, ­according to the survey commissioned by representative body Retailers Against Smuggling.

The findings chime with a recent survey commissioned by the Revenue Commissioners which found that 19pc of cigarette packs held by the smokers surveyed were classified as illegal.

They were mostly what Revenue calls contraband – normal, commercial brands of cigarettes bought duty-paid or duty-free outside the country and smuggled in.

Retailers Against Smuggling commissioned a poll by Ireland Thinks of more than 1,500 people. It asked Irish consumers how often they bought products from illicit or unofficial sources.

A quarter of respondents said they had knowingly bought goods or services from an illicit source in the past 12 months. A total of 37pc of all those who bought cigarettes, tobacco or ­vapes in the past 12 months would be open to buying from unofficial or irregular sources if the price was substantially lower than the legal market price.

Meanwhile, 19pc of all those who bought cigarettes, tobacco or vapes in the past 12 months had knowingly bought them from an unofficial or ­irregular seller in that period.

In the first three months of this year, Revenue made 16 major seizures of tobacco across Ireland. The total value of seizures last year was €58m.

When it comes to so-called dodgy boxes, a separate recent Sunday Independent/­Ireland Thinks poll found more than one in five people in Ireland now use them to watch TV shows.

The number of illegal streaming devices in households has doubled to almost 400,000 in the last five years, the figures suggest.

Up to 22pc of Irish households now use one of the connected boxes, which are sometimes activated through legitimate gadgets such as an Amazon Fire Stick.

Retailers Against Smuggling said the sale of black market vapes was a big problem, but the State was not tracking the seizures of illicit vapes.

The group called on the Government to begin tracking the seizures of illegal ­vapes to get a handle on the extent of this illicit market.

The 75c hike in excise in last October’s Budget pushed the average price of a pack of 20 cigarettes to €16.75, with rolling tobacco costing on average €23.30.

Prices on the black market are reportedly around €5 to €6, the retailer body said.

Coal bought from Northern Ireland has become a big issue. Solid Fuel Merchants Ireland said recently that “illegal coal” is being smuggled over the Border and sold online and door-to-door.

Solid fuel is generally cheaper in Northern Ireland because there is no carbon tax, a lower rate of Vat and the same quality standards do not apply, so there is no restriction on the sale or use of smoky coal.

The carbon tax on coal sold in this State went up this month by 75c per bag. A bag of coal currently costs around €5.85 in carbon tax.

Retailers Against Smuggling spokesperson Benny Gilsenan said his organisation’s survey showed there was a shadow economy operating under our noses that was being allowed to continue with impunity.