Jan O'Sullivan (Limerick East, Labour)

I thank Deputy Broughan for sharing his time with me. I commend Deputy Mitchell on her tabling of this motion. This tax is having a serious effect on tourism in Ireland. I would like to speak particularly about the mid-west, as it is having an extremely worrying effect on passenger numbers at Shannon Airport. The airport has lost more than 1 million passengers in the past two years. There is a serious danger that this airport, which is of vital infrastructural importance to the mid-west region, will become unsustainable.

I congratulate the Minister of State, Deputy Cuffe, on his elevation. I think he has some understanding of the importance of having integrated policies that deal with regions as a whole, rather than separate policies that deal with various areas differently. The Government has no aviation policy whatsoever. We need integrated thinking in this regard. If we allow Shannon Airport to go down the tubes, the prosperity of an entire region will be put in jeopardy. The travel tax can be directly implicated in the threats to the airport to which I refer. Ryanair may be bluffing when it directly blames the tax for its decision to withdraw certain routes from Shannon. The Government should call Michael O'Leary's bluff. The maintenance of existing flights is vital for the mid-west region.

This issue has been highlighted by many experts, who have indicated that a travel tax is a negative feature of any country. As my colleague, Deputy Broughan, has said, the Dutch and Spanish authorities, inter alia, have withdrawn travel taxes because of their effects on tourist numbers. We cannot view airports as stand-alone pieces of infrastructure that do not have any effect on the regions in which they are located. We need joined-up thinking and joined-up Government. I do not have much faith that the Ministers, Deputies Dempsey and Brian Lenihan, have a real understanding of this issue. I hope the promotion of Deputy Killeen, who represents the constituency of Clare, to the Cabinet will improve the Government's understanding of the importance of the issue. I expect that the new Minister for Tourism, Culture and Sport, Deputy Hanafin, also has some understanding of the region about which I speak.

We need the Government to examine the overall effect of this tax, rather than to consider it within the narrow confines of the Departments of Transport and Finance. As Deputy Broughan said, this crude measure was introduced simply to bring in some more tax revenue. It is entirely counter-productive in its effect on the economy in general and on certain vulnerable regions in particular. I suggest that the mid-west region is extremely vulnerable in this context. There were suggestions in the media earlier this week that a plan is being hatched by the Dublin Airport Authority whereby some type of direct payment would be introduced in substitution for the travel tax for passengers at Shannon Airport. I do not know whether these reports are accurate, but there is no point in simply replacing one tax with another tax imposed directly on passengers. Nor is there any point in the DAA making plans for Shannon Airport behind closed doors, with no consultation with people in the region.

There must be an adequate and concerted Government response to the threats that exist. I speak both for my own region and for the entire tourism industry. If we could attract even a small percentage of tourists from the various regions throughout the world where tourism is increasing - I have in mind eastern tourists in particular - it would make a great difference to the economy, to the many ailing hotels and to the many good tourist service providers who are struggling. That effort must be made. It will involve action in the area of marketing and many other aspects. First and foremost, however, this tax is a strong counter-incentive to people to come to this country. That problem must be addressed urgently.

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