Mr. Paul Hackett:

To add some context to that, the industry changes fast. When the package travel regulations were drawn up, the industry was very different. It was very much charter and tour-operator driven and that has changed. Ireland has two airlines, Ryanair and Aer Lingus, on which we depend massively. They are used in what we now call "dynamic packaging" for package holidays. Holidays have moved from being charter holidays to being part of a scheduled operation. The money comes in from the consumer to the travel agent and goes straight to the airline and then, when something like a cancellation happens, the money has to work its way back and that is the challenge. When the industry was charter-based, the money was effectively sitting in one's house so it was easy to give refunds. The package travel directive was designed at a different period of time and the industry has moved on. As I said earlier, when a situation like the one we are in arises, some of the legislation is difficult to implement. It is not because the industry does not want to protect the consumer and do what it is obliged to do for the consumer.