Brian Ó Domhnaill (Fianna Fail)

There has been much debate on the Lisbon reform treaty and today an article in the Irish Independent states that the "No" campaign will spend approximately €3.5 million in spreading its message. That campaign includes the Libertas group which will spend excessive amounts of money on the same errand. I am not sure where this group comes from nor how it is funded. Many people would like to know, however, how it is funded and to whom it is accountable. The message that Libertas is putting out during this campaign is confusing the electorate. I call on that group and on other organisations calling for a "No" vote to stop scaremongering and to tell the truth. One of the areas in which Libertas is raising fear is that of taxation, its message being that there is a threat to the taxation rate set in this country. That is untrue because unanimity is totally protected in all taxation matters. The Minister for Finance, Deputy Brian Lenihan, has addressed that issue correctly and he is the man we should be listening to, not to those who are scaremongers.

With regard to baggage charges in our airports, we are now in the summer season and many families and individuals may wish to go abroad on holidays. People travel more often than before and therefore they look for the best deals by booking on-line with airlines, travel agents and so on. The difficulty is that airport baggage charges are increasing. Last week Aer Lingus increased its charge for a bag from €12 to €18. These are hidden charges which consumers do not see when booking a flight. They are hit with excessive charges if they do not book on-line and so must pay at the airport. This is an area that affects very many families on low budgets across the country.

I call on the Leader to have the matter investigated in the House. The Consumer Protection Agency has a role but I believe that this House should invite the Minister for Transport, Deputy Noel Dempsey, to come here and that we should examine this issue in the next number of weeks. The Leader has an interest in this matter and I call on him to do this, given that it is a time when many people are considering booking flights. This morning a company advertised a seat sale that is valid until midnight tonight. There is indeed a seat sale but when a person gets to the baggage situation he or she is penalised for extra baggage and associated charges. This area must be investigated because consumers are being attacked and are walking blindfolded into those charges.