Ciarán Cuffe (Dún Laoghaire, Green Party)
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Question 270: To ask the Minister for Finance the reason the Government opposed the French proposal for a tax on aviation fuel at a meeting of Finance Ministers; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [24072/05]

Brian Cowen (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail)
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At recent meetings of EU Finance Ministers, there has been discussions about exploring the possibility of introducing a tax on aviation fuel or a levy, compulsory or optional, on airline tickets for the purposes of raising revenue for development aid. Opinions differed on the wisdom of such an approach. Following these discussions, the European Commission was asked to submit an analysis of all the issues involved in a compulsory or optional levy on the purchase of airlinestickets.

However, some member states, including Ireland, expressed concerns about the impact on competitiveness which would arise from the imposition of a compulsory tax. This is of particular concern to a country like Ireland on the periphery of Europe where transport costs are particularly significant.