Joe Carey (Clare, Fine Gael)

I reiterate my complete opposition to the €10 travel tax. The tax which was introduced in the rushed budget of October 2008 by the Minister for Finance, Deputy Brian Lenihan, has caused and is causing extreme harm to Shannon Airport and the economies of County Clare and the mid-west region. Absolutely no thought or consideration was given by the Government to the impact such a tax would have on tourist numbers.

As an island nation, Ireland's tourism product is dependent on quality, affordable air connectivity. There is huge pressure on airlines to stay in operation, with fuel price volatility and a dramatic slowdown in demand. Many airlines have gone to the wall as a result of these factors. We simply cannot afford to place ourselves at a competitive disadvantage in regard to other destinations but the Minister's travel tax does just this.

This year Shannon Airport has already paid a high price because of the tax, with the loss of two Ryanair aircraft from its Shannon Airport base, the loss of five Ryanair routes and a reduction in the number of Ryanair flights from 136 to 116 per week. Governments in other countries have acted quite differently in response to the global economic slowdown. They have removed travel taxes and airport charges. If this country is to bounce back from the economic doom it faces, it will have to do the same. Since 2008 the Dutch Government has removed its travel tax, the Belgian Government has decided not to introduce a similar travel tax, having listened to stakeholders in its tourism industry, while in Spain and Greece the respective governments removed charges on all regional airports. What did the Irish Government do? It imposed a ridiculous travel tax which has pulverised the tourism industry. Some hotels in County Clare are open only three days a week, bed and breakfast premises have closed down, as have restaurants and pubs, yet the Government response is to persist with a depressing travel tax.

In 2007 Ryanair accounted for 46% of business activity at Shannon Airport and in 2008, for 1.85 million passengers, delivering 60% of the airport's passengers. Last week Ryanair issued a very stark warning that the base which it established five years ago would be reduced by 75%. I appeal to the Minister of State who comes from the mid-west and represents north Tipperary-----

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