Vol. 489 No. 5
13 Ms McManus asked the Minister for Public Enterprise the position regarding the Government's efforts to have duty free facilities retained; her assessment of the prospects of the retention of duty free; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [8321/98]
19 Mr. Sargent asked the Minister for Public Enterprise the likelihood of all European Union members agreeing to reverse the decision on the abolition of duty free sales. [8379/98]
44 Ms Shortall asked the Minister for Public Enterprise if she will advise on further steps, if any, she intends to take to review the decision to abolish duty free sales in the European Union; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [8394/98]
74 Mr. Durkan asked the Minister for Public Enterprise the progress, if any, she hopes to achieve with reference to her efforts to protect the duty free facilities at airports; the further progress, if any, achieved in this matter at EU level; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [8525/98]
I propose to take Questions Nos. 13, 19, 44 and 74 together.
I am glad once again to update the House on my recent contributions to the mounting campaign to arrest the demise of duty free.
I am pleased to report that I succeeded in having duty free sales placed on the agenda of the Transport Council of 17 March last. At this meeting, I presented to the Council a statement in the matter, expressed my concern on the socio-economic impact of the proposed ending of duty free sales and called for an EU wide study to be carried out by the Commission into the effects on employment, access transport costs, etc. of the proposed abolition.
In advance of this Council meeting and in order to gain maximum effect, I wrote to my fellow Transport Ministers in the European Union. I also met directly with the French, German and British Ministers and held phone conversations with several others. As a result of these contacts and, in particular, arising from visits to my counterparts in the UK, Germany and France, I secured in advance indications of support from key players in the Council.
As the House is doubtless aware Ireland received a strong level of support around the Council table. Eight countries, namely, UK, Germany, France, Finland, Sweden, Spain, Portugal and Belgium, supported my initiative. Five countries did not speak and Netherlands and Denmark stated that it was a matter for ECOFIN.
In its conclusions on the proceedings of the Council, the Presidency noted the strong support by a majority of delegations for my proposal to have the Commission carry out an impact study. The Presidency summed up by saying that he would bring this support to the attention of the President of ECOFIN. Indeed, this outcome has been noted in the minutes of the Transport Council.
On Tuesday, 31 March my colleague, the Minister for Finance, published the study his Department had commissioned on the impact on Ireland of the abolition of duty free sales. Minister McCreevy has stated that he will use the results of the study to press the case for retaining duty free and tax free sales in ECOFIN, the Council of Economic and Finance Ministers. The House is well aware that reversal of the present decision requires a proposal from the Commission and unanimous agreement of the ECOFIN Council.
