Sandra McLellan (Cork East, Sinn Fein)
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Question 1411: To ask the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport the steps he is taking to ensure, as far as is possible, the maintenance of employment in the travel and tour business here. [18436/12]

Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael)
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As with businesses in other sectors of the private economy, I am very conscious of difficulties being experienced by tour operators and travel agents due to the general economic circumstances prevailing at present. With regard to the tourism sector generally, the Government has introduced a range of measures to enhance competitiveness and our marketing drive overseas. These included reducing the cost of employing people by halving employers' PRSI for those on modest wages and reducing VAT to 9% on tourism-related services. We also facilitated an additional autumn/winter marketing blitz, by channelling some of the proceeds from our travel tax back into cooperative tourism marketing. According to Failte Ireland, many tourism enterprises are optimistic regarding their own prospects for 2012. If these markets perform as expected, employment in the industry should increase this year. Under the auspices of my Department, the Commission for Aviation Regulation [CAR] licences travel agents and tour operators in accordance with the Transport [Tour Operators and Travel Agents] Act 1982.