Joe Carey (Clare, Fine Gael)

The Minister for Finance, in his wisdom, is trying to tax the airline industry out of existence with a €10 air travel tax. To make matters worse, he is placing Shannon Airport at a disadvantage vis-À-vis Dublin Airport on a number of routes, including Liverpool, Manchester and East Midlands. Ryanair accounts for 60% of traffic at Shannon Airport, with 35 different routes and almost 2 million passengers. The average Ryanair fare is €10 in the winter months and at the stroke of a pen, the Minister has increased such fares by 100% with his proposed new tax. As a direct result of this tax, Ryanair has stated that its €400 million investment in Shannon Airport is in jeopardy.

The new air travel tax is yet another shambolic charge in a shambolic budget. The Minister's travel tax does nothing for tourism, business or job creation. In fact, the tax will weigh heavily on the tourism industry and will cause major job losses in the mid-west. I plead with the Minister not to implement the air travel tax on passengers using Shannon Airport. It will cause utter devastation in Shannon and the mid-west. I ask the Minister to use his common sense on this issue.

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