Olivia Mitchell (Dublin South, Fine Gael)

I am aware of the ongoing marketing of Ireland and the fact that money has been maintained in this area, and it is all very welcome. However, it is undermined completely by a departure tax. I ask the Minister, as somebody who sits at the Cabinet table, how he could let this happen. How could he let such a totally counter-productive instrument as a departure tax happen to the tourism industry? To spend €70 million on marketing to attract people here and incentivise them to come to Ireland, and then to have this enormous disincentive put on them when they get to Ireland is counterproductive. The Minister told me that other countries have similar taxes, as they do, but in the face of the current downturn in travel and in tourism generally, they are removing those departure taxes, while we are imposing one.

Aer Lingus is taking its US flights out of Shannon Airport and its most recent disastrous announcement is that in its returns for the year it forecasts a loss of €100 million. Aer Lingus puts at least €30 million to €40 million of that down to the departure tax. That is unsustainable. We are down to two short-haul airlines. Aer Lingus no longer does direct bookings from abroad, it will not code share and it is not partnering with other airlines to facilitate direct bookings from anywhere. One cannot get a direct booking into Ireland from anywhere outside the EU virtually.

Is any strategy in place? Is the Minister talking to the Minister for Finance? Is he doing anything to ensure we have competition for the two airlines we have and to rescue Aer Lingus, because it is on a totally unsustainable path, particularly in view of the departure tax? Airlines cannot pass on that departure tax; they must absorb it.

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