Timmy Dooley (Clare, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the Minister of State, Deputy Brian Hayes. He has a keen interest in this area and will be aware that as a result of the Budget Statement, the Government decided to extend a fuel rebate system to the haulage sector. I was grateful for this decision, having lobbied hard and having worked with the hauliers on it. They brought forward some concrete proposals demonstrating that were a rebate scheme to be put in place in line with other jurisdictions, there were significant revenues to be generated by the State. The approach they took was that many hauliers who travel internationally would buy fuel at home in the event of such a rebate scheme being in place. The Road Haulage Association thought that many of its members were engaged in what might be referred to as fuel tourism, whereby they purchased fuel outside this jurisdiction because it was cheaper elsewhere, with the State losing the entire duty as a result of their decision. The hauliers came forward with a comprehensive and detailed analysis carried out by Deloitte and I was very pleased the Government accepted the position in this regard.

Following on from that decision, there has been an approach from the Coach Tourism and Transport Council of Ireland which, as the Minister of State is aware, represents bus and coach operators. The council does not make the same argument in respect of fuel tourism but nevertheless has a strong argument. These operators believe that were the scheme to be extended to include them, the cost would be a relatively small amount out of the €70 million that has been set aside in this year's budget. I believe its estimate is somewhere between €2.02 million and €3.79 million per year. This proposal should be considered in the context of the services these operators provide to the tourism sector. The Minister of State is aware of the existence of coach tour business in a wide variety of markets. Initially it was geared to the North American market but in more recent years has expanded into the European and other markets. This is an effort to assist the coach tour business in difficult economic circumstances, much of which are based on the current recessionary environment, in maintaining a quality fleet of vehicles that is appropriate to the kind of service that must be provided to the discerning tourist.

They have expressed concern to me and others that if the operators of the coaches are not in a position to have quality fleets, the image of the product we offer will disintegrate. These businesses pay VAT on various services and fuel, and they are a significant generator of revenue for the State.

I support these transport businesses as they have a legitimate case, which should be recognised by the Department and acted upon based on the costing available. I am sure these people have contacted the Department and I appeal to the Minister of State to reflect on the issue. Perhaps in the presentation and publication of the finance Bill, there will be consideration of these coach tour operators.

See this speech in context