Niall Collins (Limerick County, Fianna Fail)
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231. To ask the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation her views on the recent hike in baggage fees by Irish airlines; her further views that the Competition and Consumer Protection Commission should investigate these increases; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [15281/16]

Mary Mitchell O'Connor (Dún Laoghaire, Fine Gael)
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I understand that the increase in baggage fees applied by one of the Irish airlines is not a new price rise as such but rather an increase in baggage fees that applies annually during the peak summer holiday period. The other Irish airline has revised its fee structure for baggage replacing a large number of different fees with seasonal variations with six year-round fee bands based on the destination and duration of flights and the weight of the baggage. While the airline claims that the revised fee structure will lead to reduced baggage charges for most passengers, I am aware that other commentators have questioned this claim. As the Deputy will be aware, no Government in recent decades has pursued a policy of price control other than for a very small number of regulated sectors where normal competitive conditions do not obtain. I do not propose to depart from this policy. The Competition and Consumer Protection Commission’s role is to ensure that markets are competitive and not to regulate prices. According to the most recent Consumer Price Index figures released by the Central Statistics Office, air fares fell by 8.4 per cent in the year to April 2016. While increases in baggage charges will clearly affect some passengers, they should also be viewed in the light of the overall reduction in air fares over the past year.