Charles Flanagan
Ceist:25 Mr. Flanagan asked the Minister for Finance if, in view of the importance of the River Shannon as a tourist amenity, he will pursue the designation of the area as a special development area with appropriate incentives.
Written Answers. - River Shannon Area Development.
It is not clear from the Deputy's question what type of incentive he has in mind for the River Shannon. There are already several incentive schemes available for tourism development, for example, the EC Structural Funds, the Business Expansion Scheme, the INTERREG Tourism Sub-Programme and the International Fund for Ireland.
If, what the Deputy has in mind is the extention of tax incentives to the River Shannon area, I must point out that such a move would be contrary to Government tax reform policy which is aimed at broadening the tax base and reducing the burden of taxation on the lower paid. The introduction of new tax incentives would be inconsistent with this policy objective.