Joe Carey (Clare, Fine Gael)

I commend Deputy Bruton on bringing forth this motion this evening. I wish to focus on a particular issue, namely, the travel tax. A significant industry in the mid-west is tourism. Levelling increased airport charges and a travel tax on passengers will not kick start our tourism industry. Neither will it help to sustain jobs or increase passenger numbers in and out of our airports in the mid-west. It is hard to marry the practice of fleecing potential tourists to this country with this week's announcement that 15,000 new jobs are to be created in the tourism sector by 2015. I suspect this announcement is akin to the announcement of the €53 million economic and tourism plan, long promised for Shannon Airport but never delivered.

The imposition of the €10 travel tax has been the most damaging in terms of Irish tourism. The disastrous travel tax appears at this stage to stand as a vanity principle for the Government while all evidence in terms of its existence points to the damage it has done and will continue to do into the future. We can see the impact these policies are having on Shannon Airport with the row back in service provision by operators such as Ryanair whose passenger throughput is expected to decline from 1.9 million passengers to 400,000 next year.

Like many Members, I have been approached by business people, many over the summer. They are being squeezed by Government and are being put out of operation owing to economic circumstances in the country. A particular case which sticks in my mind is that of a bus company based in Shannon Airport, PK Travel, which was contracted to provide a shuttle service to people coming in and out of the airport. The contract was a three-year one in respect of which the company invested €500,000 in the provision of buses. However, it was withdrawn after two years without notice, resulting in 20 employees losing their jobs and the €500,000 investment in buses lying idle, with the money remaining to be repaid. Subsequent to this, when PK Travel applied for a subsidy to help keep people employed they were told they had missed the closing date. It beggars belief that a company would be told this, a company paying, tax, PRSI and excise duties and keeping people in the mid-west employed. The Minister, Deputy O'Keeffe, should introduce a new employment subsidy in the near future in order to keep these jobs. I ask that the Minister respond to that point during his contribution to the debate.

In regard to young people leaving Ireland, weekend nights around Ireland now involve young people sitting around in circles talking about whether to emigrate to Australia, Canada or the UK. Some 100,000 people have already taken this option, resulting in a brain drain on our country, which must be stopped. I want now to put in context the unemployment crisis in the mid-west. Many of the points raised by the mid-west task force have not yet been addressed. The only issue being addressed is that of the extension of the Limerick city boundary into County Clare. I say to the Government and Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government, Deputy Gormley, "Hands off County Clare". I am seeking a statement from the Minister, Deputy Gormley, that will put the people of County Clare at ease. This is a red herring. It will not create any jobs. It is an acrimonious issue and it should be put to bed. The Government should deal with the real issues raised by the mid-west task force. For example, it should deliver the Lynx Cargo facility, a €9 million investment, which will act as a magnet for jobs. What we need is jobs and not rhetoric. The Government should cease playing around with the boundaries of County Clare.

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