Timmy Dooley (Clare, Fianna Fail)

This may, ultimately, become a subsidy for the entertainment sector. Sadly, many of these operators are under pressure and they have told us about that. I am concerned that the reduction will not be passed on to the consumer. Even if it is, it will not make an appreciable or measurable difference to their capacity to spend more. At best, the reduction is a gimmick.

There were ways of targeting measures more effectively to attract people into the State. That has been done, to some extent, by the elimination of the €3 travel tax, which I was never in favour of. In the last budget, the Minister for Finance, Deputy Brian Lenihan, moved a considerable way by reducing the tax from €10 to €3. Last December, a scheme was put forward, with the compliance of the Dublin Airport Authority, to encourage traffic growth at the three DAA airports. I am not sure if it is still in place. It would have given a rebate of all airport charges to airlines that increased their activity above 2010 levels. I am not sure if that scheme is still in place.

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