Results 4,981-5,000 of 10,460 for speaker:Gerry Horkan

Seanad: Climate Action and Low Carbon Development (Amendment) Bill 2021: Second Stage (Resumed) (25 Jun 2021)

Gerry Horkan: Next Tuesday.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Merchant Service Providers in the Travel Trade in Ireland: Discussion (23 Jun 2021)

Gerry Horkan: I thank Ms Mannion for her presentation. I am only a new member of this committee so I am not as familiar with the topic as some of the other members but, from what I am seeing, it seems merchant service providers want to have it both ways. If an operator gets into trouble or enters liquidation, the Commission for Aviation Regulation is there, but the MSPs seem to want extra deposits and...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Merchant Service Providers in the Travel Trade in Ireland: Discussion (23 Jun 2021)

Gerry Horkan: The commission's role is to provide a service in respect of tour operators, as they were known in the past, operating package holiday arrangements. That is the commission's sole responsibility. Its bonded scheme does not apply to people who book flights separately from accommodation or accommodation separately from flights.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Merchant Service Providers in the Travel Trade in Ireland: Discussion (23 Jun 2021)

Gerry Horkan: If an airline were to get into difficulty, the commission would provide refunds.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Merchant Service Providers in the Travel Trade in Ireland: Discussion (23 Jun 2021)

Gerry Horkan: Okay. The commission's scheme does not cover airlines that get into difficulty.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Merchant Service Providers in the Travel Trade in Ireland: Discussion (23 Jun 2021)

Gerry Horkan: If a customer has paid for a package deal with a tour operator, everything the consumer has given to the tour operator is covered.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Merchant Service Providers in the Travel Trade in Ireland: Discussion (23 Jun 2021)

Gerry Horkan: In the case of a tour operator failing, the commission will repatriate people or make sure people can go on their holidays regardless. Is that the case?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Merchant Service Providers in the Travel Trade in Ireland: Discussion (23 Jun 2021)

Gerry Horkan: With regard to the mechanism, is it the case every travel agent pays into the scheme?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Merchant Service Providers in the Travel Trade in Ireland: Discussion (23 Jun 2021)

Gerry Horkan: Okay, it involves all tour operators licensed here. How does the levy or the scheme work?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Merchant Service Providers in the Travel Trade in Ireland: Discussion (23 Jun 2021)

Gerry Horkan: It is not the case that every tour operator puts money into the scheme so that, if one fails, the others pick up the tab.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Merchant Service Providers in the Travel Trade in Ireland: Discussion (23 Jun 2021)

Gerry Horkan: That happens when there is an issue because of a greater amount than is sufficient from the tour operators bond. Is that correct?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Merchant Service Providers in the Travel Trade in Ireland: Discussion (23 Jun 2021)

Gerry Horkan: Generally speaking, in the past five or ten years has the bond covered the amount? Have the bonds of the tour operators covered the shortfall when something goes wrong?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Merchant Service Providers in the Travel Trade in Ireland: Discussion (23 Jun 2021)

Gerry Horkan: There was a time in the 1980s when we did not have the likes of Ryanair offering independent flights and people tended to go on their holidays with tour operators far more than they do now. Do we have an idea of how the volume of business has changed? How has it fallen over time in respect of the tour operator market?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Merchant Service Providers in the Travel Trade in Ireland: Discussion (23 Jun 2021)

Gerry Horkan: My thanks to Ms Mannion and Mr. Hodnett.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Issues facing the Aviation Industry: Discussion (Resumed) (23 Jun 2021)

Gerry Horkan: As somebody who is based in Dublin but who has three west of Ireland grandparents, I wish Shannon Chamber and Ms Fitzgerald Kane the very best in everything they are doing. My local publican, Mr. Charlie Chawke, is from Adare. I know Adare very well and I believe the region has so much to offer. I have always admired Shannon as the birthplace of things like duty-free and Irish coffee....

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Issues facing the Aviation Industry: Discussion (Resumed) (23 Jun 2021)

Gerry Horkan: In terms of the airlines that are there, obviously we have had discussions about Aer Lingus. How much of the business was Ryanair's in 2019 in terms of the total passengers carried? Has Mr. Thompstone had negotiations with Ryanair on what it might be able to do if these systems were put in place?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Issues facing the Aviation Industry: Discussion (Resumed) (23 Jun 2021)

Gerry Horkan: What is the building or carrying capacity of Shannon Airport? I know it is at approximately just under 2 million for the past ten years or so. What is the actual total capacity? What could Shannon Airport comfortably handle going through it in a year? Is it 10 million or 15 million? What is it?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Issues facing the Aviation Industry: Discussion (Resumed) (23 Jun 2021)

Gerry Horkan: There is, therefore, plenty of spare capacity there if Shannon can handle it. That is a message our committee should take. Rather than having to build loads of extra terminals for capacity in Dublin if we get back to pre-pandemic levels, which I accept will not be today or tomorrow, we should try to make sure that Shannon Airport and the regions outside Dublin, which is a region in itself,...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Issues facing the Aviation Industry: Discussion (Resumed) (23 Jun 2021)

Gerry Horkan: It is a win-win.