Pearse Doherty (Donegal South West, Sinn Fein)

I would not wish to do that. One could reasonably ask what difference €3 will make. People travelling from Boston, New York, Australia, Shanghai or New York would pay an extra €3 but their holiday will cost hundreds of euro at the very least. The cost may be in the thousands of euro if families come along. One can add the costs of increased excise and taxes. A person coming to Donegal cannot jump on the train so a car must be hired and filled at the petrol station. That person must pay the excise duties, with the rates being increased by the Government in this budget. The person will also pay the additional airport tax. The signal is that this place is closed for tourism purposes.

The reduction of the rate does not go far enough as we must put a stop to the signal that this place penalises tourists. This may have more to do with supporting the 100,000 people who will leave our shores in the next two years; they will have to pay €7 less. It is the wrong decision and the tax should be repealed. The section should be replaced with a section deleting the airport tax in its totality.

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