asked the Minister for Transport and Power whether he has had discussions with the airlines with a view to their introducing special air fares for Irish people in Great Britain returning home on holidays; if so, if he will state the outcome of the discussions; whether these special fares will operate for the coming Christmas period; and, if not, why.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Holiday Air Fares.
30.
I have had this matter considered and I am satisfied that it is not possible for Aer Lingus and the other airlines operating cross-channel services to provide special fares for Irish people returning home on holidays. Such fares would be difficult to administer. Having regard to current airline costs the present level of cross-channel fares is reasonable and the introduction of reduced fares would impose an uneconomic burden on the airlines.
Can the Minister say why this type of fares structure would be difficult to implement?
There already is a special Christmas fare applicable to everyone. It is applicable inwards from 18th to 24th December and valid for one month and it is a substantial reduction on the normal fare for the rest of the year. The Deputy is asking me to isolate Irish people from that and give them a further reduced fare. This is just "not on". There is already a reduction in fare compared to the normal fare and this applies to everybody coming in over the Christmas period. The airlines inform me this is the only practical way of doing it.
Has the Minister had discussions with the airlines, as he undertook here three weeks ago to do——
Of course I had.
——to examine the whole fares structure with a view to introducing a special emigrant fare?
If the Deputy was listening to me the first thing I said was that I had had this matter considered. In effect that means that I have had discussions with the airlines about this matter. They assured me that this is just not practical and, in effect, would mean further losses.