sellmefear
← all entries

OUTLETS DISAGREESunday 16 August 2026

Outlets disagree: The year for which €1 billion in tax revenue losses occurred

dundalkdemocrat.ie (states 'last year alone'); leinsterleader.ie (states 'last year alone'); lmfm.ie (states 'last year alone'); retailnews.ie (states 'last year alone')

As published

7 pages captured at the time, in each outlet's own typography. Open one to read the copy held outside the publisher's control.

dundalkdemocrat.ie as published: New research finds 57% of cigarette packs in Dundalk avoided Irish taxdundalkdemocrat.ie2026-08-16 13:06:30leinsterleader.ie as published: New research finds 51% of cigarette packs in Naas avoided Irish taxleinsterleader.ie2026-08-13 14:08:52lmfm.ie as published: New Research finds 60% of cigarette packs in Navan avoided Irish taxlmfm.ie2026-08-13 14:08:52retailnews.ie as published: New Research finds 57% of cigarette packs in Ireland avoided Irish taxretailnews.ie2026-08-13 15:17:53roscommonherald.ie as published: New research finds 53% of cigarette packs in Athlone avoided Irish taxroscommonherald.ie2026-08-13 14:08:52thurles.info as published: Survey Finds 57% Of Discarded Cigarette Packs Had No Irish Duty Paidthurles.info2026-08-15 13:46:00westmeathindependent.ie as published: Sixty per cent of cigarette packs avoided Irish tax, research findswestmeathindependent.ie2026-08-13 14:08:52
Same storyEarlier: A survey of discarded cigarette packs in Irish towns and cities, commissioned by JTI IrelaEarlier: A survey commissioned by JTI Ireland found that 57% of cigarette packs surveyed nationwideEach entry records what was published on its own date and is not edited afterwards.

What this entry found

  • OUTLETS DISAGREE

    The exact amount of government-reported losses to illegal tobacco products

    • dundalkdemocrat.ie (€758 million)
    • leinsterleader.ie (€758m)
    • lmfm.ie (€758 million)
    • retailnews.ie (€758 million)
  • OUTLETS DISAGREE

    The headline percentage for national NIDP rate

    • dundalkdemocrat.ie (headline states 57% for Dundalk)
    • leinsterleader.ie (headline states 51% for Naas)
    • lmfm.ie (headline states 60% for Navan)
    • retailnews.ie (headline states 57% for Ireland nationwide)
  • ONLY ONE OUTLET HAD THIS

    leinsterleader.ie carried 3 details no other outlet reported.

    • Naas specifically: 51% of cigarette packs surveyed were NIDP, with 14% counterfeit
    • Leixlip specifically: 48% of cigarette packs surveyed were NIDP, with 16% counterfeit
    • Newbridge specifically: 53% of cigarette packs surveyed were NIDP, with 19% counterfeit
7independent outlets
What happened, for context

A survey of discarded cigarette packs commissioned by Japan Tobacco International Ireland found that 57% of cigarette packs surveyed nationwide in 2026 were non-Irish duty paid (NIDP), with 14% identified as counterfeit. The survey was conducted between February 16 and April 3, 2026, across 22 Irish towns and cities.

Who reported it

  • dundalkdemocrat.ieUNCLASSIFIED
  • leinsterleader.ieUNCLASSIFIED
  • lmfm.ieUNCLASSIFIED
  • retailnews.ieUNCLASSIFIED
  • roscommonherald.ieUNCLASSIFIED
  • thurles.infoUNCLASSIFIED
  • westmeathindependent.ieUNCLASSIFIED

References

Carried by multiple outlets

  • The survey was commissioned by Japan Tobacco International (JTI) Irelanddundalkdemocrat.ie, leinsterleader.ie, lmfm.ie, retailnews.ie, roscommonherald.ie, thurles.info, westmeathindependent.ie
  • Nationwide, 57% of cigarette packs surveyed were non-Irish duty paid (NIDP)leinsterleader.ie, retailnews.ie, thurles.info, westmeathindependent.ie
  • Nationwide, 14% of cigarette packs surveyed were counterfeitdundalkdemocrat.ie, leinsterleader.ie, lmfm.ie, retailnews.ie, roscommonherald.ie, thurles.info, westmeathindependent.ie
  • NIDP includes both illegal counterfeit cigarettes and legal products purchased abroad without Irish tax paiddundalkdemocrat.ie, leinsterleader.ie, lmfm.ie, retailnews.ie, roscommonherald.ie, thurles.info
  • Since 2018, the Irish exchequer has lost approximately €5 billion in tax revenue to NIDP productsdundalkdemocrat.ie, leinsterleader.ie, lmfm.ie, retailnews.ie, roscommonherald.ie, thurles.info
  • Around €1 billion in tax revenue was lost to NIDP products in the most recent year measureddundalkdemocrat.ie, leinsterleader.ie, lmfm.ie, retailnews.ie, roscommonherald.ie, thurles.info
  • and 7 more, not shown

Reported by one outlet only

  • Dundalk specifically: 57% of cigarette packs surveyed were NIDP, with 17% counterfeitonly dundalkdemocrat.ie
  • Naas specifically: 51% of cigarette packs surveyed were NIDP, with 14% counterfeitonly leinsterleader.ie
  • Leixlip specifically: 48% of cigarette packs surveyed were NIDP, with 16% counterfeitonly leinsterleader.ie
  • Newbridge specifically: 53% of cigarette packs surveyed were NIDP, with 19% counterfeitonly leinsterleader.ie
  • Navan specifically: 60% of cigarette packs surveyed were NIDP, with 17% counterfeitonly lmfm.ie
  • Athlone specifically: 53% of cigarette packs surveyed were NIDP, with 10% counterfeitonly roscommonherald.ie

Reported unevenly

  • The year for which €1 billion in tax revenue losses occurredstated by dundalkdemocrat.ie (states 'last year alone'), leinsterleader.ie (states 'last year alone'), lmfm.ie (states 'last year alone'), retailnews.ie (states 'last year alone'), roscommonherald.ie (states 'last year alone'), thurles.info (states 'last year alone'), westmeathindependent.ie (states '2025 alone') · absent from westmeathindependent.ie specifies 2025, while other outlets use relative reference 'last year' without explicit year
  • The exact amount of government-reported losses to illegal tobacco productsstated by dundalkdemocrat.ie (€758 million), leinsterleader.ie (€758m), lmfm.ie (€758 million), retailnews.ie (€758 million), roscommonherald.ie (€758 million), westmeathindependent.ie (over €750 million) · absent from westmeathindependent.ie states 'over €750 million' while others state €758 million
  • The headline percentage for national NIDP ratestated by dundalkdemocrat.ie (headline states 57% for Dundalk), leinsterleader.ie (headline states 51% for Naas), lmfm.ie (headline states 60% for Navan), retailnews.ie (headline states 57% for Ireland nationwide), roscommonherald.ie (headline states 53% for Athlone), thurles.info (headline states 57%), westmeathindependent.ie (headline states 'Sixty per cent' / 57% in body) · absent from Each outlet led with a different locality's percentage in the headline, except retailnews.ie, thurles.info and westmeathindependent.ie which led with the national figure. This creates different headline emphasis across the cluster.