Vol. 491 No. 3
237 Mr. Deenihan asked the Minister for Finance if he raised the issue of the retention of duty free sales after 1999 at the ECOFIN meeting of 19 May 1998; if he demanded that an immediate impact study should be carried out by the EU Commission in relation to this issue; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [11733/98]
I would like to inform the Deputy that, at my specific request, the proposed abolition of duty free was placed on the agenda for the ECOFIN Council meeting on 19 May 1998. While some member states were broadly supportive of my request, it was not possible to get the EU Commission to agree to undertake an EU wide study into the consequences of the abolition of duty free sales for intra-Community trade post-30 June 1999.
