asked the Minister for Finance if he will agree to allow duty-free facilities for travellers between Ireland and Great Britain.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Duty-Free Facilities.
34.
Mr. R. Burke
A submission, proposing that duty-free facilities be introduced on air and sea routes between this State and Britain, was recently given very detailed consideration particularly in the context of preparation of the budget, 1977, and rejected.
By arrangement between the Irish and British authorities, duty-free facilities have not been allowed on ships and aircraft travelling between this country and Britain since the foundation of the State. The British authorities are opposed to any alteration in existing arrangements at this time.
I might add that the case made for the introduction of duty-free facilities on cross-channel routes was less than convincing to justify the incurring of a substantial and certain revenue loss in the remote hope that resultant indirect revenue receipts might be sufficient to balance the loss or at least to reduce it to such magnitude that it could be regarded as a fair price to pay for gains to the economy and specifically to the Irish carrier companies resulting from enhanced tourist traffic from Britain. No evidence was furnished to substantiate the suggestion that the availability of duty-free facilities is a determining factor in tourists' choice of holiday venues.
(Dublin Central): Could the Taoiseach indicate what the revenue loss would be?
The estimated direct loss would be about £6 million.