A tax on vapes in Ireland will be announced in October’s budget, the country’s finance minister has revealed.
Jack Chambers said his government department was now working with Revenue - Irish tax and customs - on the “finer details” of the new levy.
"It's our intention to make progress on that in this year's budget,” he said. “There's work ongoing between Revenue and the Department of Finance and how we can operationalise that and obviously I'll be able to set out further information on budget day.
He added: "The details and the technicalities are being worked through on how we can make that possible for 2025."
Tax hike on cigarettes still undecided
However, he said a decision on increasing tax on cigarettes - that are proven to be far more dangerous to health than vapes - had yet to be made.
He said: “It's a public health measure every year in addition to a revenue-raising measure, and, you know, we're trying to support people away from continuing to smoke, and that's been part of the consideration every year.”
In December, Ireland banned the sale of vapes to under-18s. The order, signed by Irish Health Minister Stephen Donnelly, made it an offence to sell a nicotine inhaling product, such as vapes, to a child.
The penalties can include a fine of up to €4,000 (£3,461) and up to six months in prison.
The ban in the Republic of Ireland mirrored similar legislation in the UK. England and Wales made the ban in 2015, followed by Scotland in 2017 and Northern Ireland in 2022.
Public consultation on further vape rules
The previous month, the health minister and Public Health Minister Hildegarde Naughton had launched a public consultation on the future regulation of vapes.
She said the ban was a "good beginning."
"The protection of children is at the centre of our national tobacco control policy, Tobacco Free Ireland, and I welcome this major step forward in that direction," she added.
"We know that young people who vape are more likely to go on to smoke, so it is important that they are not drawn to these products.”
In response to the consultation, the Institution of Public Health in Ireland recommended stronger regulations on vaping including raising the legal age of sale further to 21, introducing the vape tax, limiting packaging and marketing of vapes, and restricting flavours.
