Richard Bruton (Dublin North Central, Fine Gael)
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Question 233: To ask the Minister for Transport if the EU is planning to introduce a system where Internet booking of travel and accommodation would be covered by an insurance bond; if the cost to the provider will be funded on the same terms as the present bonds that apply to travel agents; his views on the fact that this arrangement for Internet booking might represent unfair competition for travel agents who have to pay a higher cost for the necessary insurance cover; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [41312/09]

Olivia Mitchell (Dublin South, Fine Gael)
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Question 253: To ask the Minister for Transport if his attention has been drawn to the numbers of jobs being lost here as a result of the burden of 4% of value which is placed on travel agents here; if his further attention has been drawn to the fact that outward travel from Ireland is bound up with inward tourism in that planes and boats must travel in both directions; if he will review this matter before all jobs in this sector are lost; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [41826/09]

Noel Dempsey (Meath West, Fianna Fail)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 233 and 253 together.

In 2007 the European Commission commenced a consultation process for the review of the Package Holiday Directive (Council Directive No. 90/314/EEC), which sets out consumer rights in the package travel, package holiday and package tour sectors. I understand that the purpose of the Commission's review is to update consumer rights in response to significant changes in the market since the adoption of the existing Directive in 1990. As the key objective of the review is to ensure that adequate protections are in place for the consumer, it is expected that the Department of Enterprise Trade & Employment and the National Consumer Agency will also play an active part in the consultation process for the proposed reform of this Directive.

Statutory responsibility for regulation of the travel trade sector in Ireland rests with the Commission for Aviation Regulation (CAR). Last year, I asked CAR to undertake a review of travel trade licensing and bonding regulations and to recommend any reforms that may be warranted. The review by CAR concluded that any reduction in the level of the bond required by travel agents would increase the likelihood of further calls on the Travel Protection Fund (TPF), which has been called upon in recent times following a number of collapses in the industry in 2008 and to date in 2009, even at current bond levels.