Pearse Doherty (Sinn Fein)

I have a question on the two rates of €2 and €10 which are dealt with in subsection (2)(b) . I am thinking in particular of Donegal Airport and the flight from there to Glasgow. Subsection (2)(b) refers to:

. . . the distance between the place of departure of the flight and the place where the flight ends, at the rate of—

(i) €2 in the case of a flight from an airport to a destination located not more

than 300 kilometres from Dublin Airport. . .

I seek clarification. Is it the distance between the airport from which somebody leaves, for example Farranfore or Donegal Airport, to the destination or the distance between Dublin Airport and the eventual destination?

The smaller regional airports should have been exempt from this. We have a serious problem in the north west. Visitor numbers have declined dramatically. In some areas, such as Leitrim and Roscommon, expenditure on tourism has been less than 1%. An incentive is needed to get people into those regions. Putting an additional burden on those smaller regional airports is excessive and counterproductive. Some of these regional airports operate international flights, for example, there is a flight from Donegal Airport to Prestwick in Glasgow, which is not subsidised by the State. It has also taken in charter aeroplanes from Rotterdam and these will all be subject to the levy.

All the different agencies and partners are trying to get people into these regions, which do not have access to public transport. A person cannot fly from Rotterdam to Dublin Airport and then get the train to Gweedore. There is no train. The public bus will take one as far as Letterkenny. It is very important that the vision for these regional airports in very rural communities that need support is welcomed and applauded. These regions, which have suffered seriously over many years and have seen a significant drop in the amount of tourism generated, should have been exempt from this tax. I seek clarification on the broader point and an answer on whether the distance is measured from Dublin Airport or the original airport. What rate would be imposed on the Donegal-Prestwick and Dublin-Rotterdam connections?

The Minister may be aware that these airports offer a subsidised scheme to cancer patients who cannot go through a four and a half hour journey to Dublin for a couple of minutes treatment. Perhaps the Minister can tell me there is an exemption for patients with these health needs who travel from these regional airports to the capital city. If so, the Bill would support what the local voluntary community and airport have done to meet the needs of cancer sufferers as a result of not having the services in the north west.