Vol. 484 No. 1
28 Ms Shortall asked the Minister for Tourism, Sport and Recreation his views on the implications for the tourism industry of the proposed abolition of the duty free industry within the European Union; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [21508/97]
Duty and tax free sales are highly profitable and are being used in part by air and sea transport operators to keep charges and fares down. Abolition of duty free could, therefore, be particularly problematic for low fare airlines and ferry companies, slowing down the growth of tourism into Ireland where more competitive fares have underpinned a dramatic increase in visitor arrivals in recent years.
I assure the Deputy that the Government is using every opportunity to raise this issue at political level in appropriate fora and to suggest the need for further study by the European Commission of the implications of the abolition of intra-EU duty free.
Given the potential impact of the proposed measure on the development of the tourism industry generally, the Minister of State, Deputy Flood, raised the issue at the EU Tourism Council of Ministers' meeting in Brussels on 26 November. The Taoiseach and the Minister for Public Enterprise have also been active in highighting the importance of the matter. Last week the Taoiseach raised the subject at the EU Employment Summit in Luxembourg and he has reported to the House on the outcome in some detail on 25 November. There is a special committee studying the implications for Ireland in his Department and he intends raising a further marker about Ireland's concerns at the December summit.
The Taoiseach outlined in his statement on 25 November the Government's strategy which is to continue to seek to have the matter raised at the level of Transport Ministers, ECOFIN, the European Council and the Commission.
