Olivia Mitchell (Dublin South, Fine Gael)

I do not know if the Minister is aware of the latest CSO figures, which indicate that in September visitor numbers from Britain decreased by 17% and visitor numbers from the United States decreased by 10%. The recession is really beginning to bite. Given that we know there is a global recession and that the travel industry is contracting, it is very important to retain our market share such that we will have a tourism industry when the recession ends.

The Minister surely agrees that a €10 departure tax was the last measure needed by the tourism industry, particularly because our Achilles heel is our being an island country. We depend on the airlines to bring in travellers. Some 95% of all visitors to the country come by airplane. Aer Lingus has already announced the tax will cost it €30 million next year. I am not sure if this figure applies to the whole of next year. Clearly the airline cannot afford to lose €30 million in addition to the losses it is already expecting. Surely the tax was not the Minister's idea. Was he even consulted on it? If one cared about tourism, it would be the last step one would consider. The holiday home tax falls into the same category. Who regarded these taxes as a way to help the tourism industry, which is one of our more important service industries and which, I hope, could be one of our growth industries? Are they the Minister's idea?

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