Ba mhaith liom fáilte a chur roimh an Bille seo thar cheann an Pháirtí Daonlathaigh. Leagann an Bille síos rialacha an Aontais Eorpaigh maidir le daoine atá ag dul ar saoire ar phacáiste a chuireann na trádálaithe taistil le chéile. Is cinnte go mbainfidh an-chuid daoine an-tairbhe as na rialacha nuair a chuirfear i bhfeidhm iad. Beidh siad níos sábháilte in a n-aigne féin agus iad ag dul ar saoire, go háirithe thar lear. Beidh iachall orthu siúd a chuirfidh na pacáistí seo amach gach eolas a chur síos ina gcuid brochures agus cloí le gach rud atá leagtha síos iontu. Muna gcomhlíonann siad na coinníollacha atá leagtha síos beidh orthu faoiseamh a íoc dóibh súd a bhíonn mí-shásta ina dhiaidh sin. Bhí sé le feiceáil le roinnt blianta anuas gur tharla sé gur thit comhlachtaí trádála taistil as a chéile agus gur fágadh daoine thar lear agus gan aon duine chun teacht i gcabhair orthu. Faoin mBille seo is cinnte go mbeidh cabhair ar a laghad le fáil ag daoine cuma cén aít a théann said ar saoire de bharr na rialacha seo, go háirithe taobh istigh den Aontas Eorpach féin.
The purpose of this Bill is the implementation of the European Union internal market in the tourism sector. Laying down common rules on package holidays will help eliminate the shortcomings and different practices which have been in operation in member states, thus bringing about a major improvement for Community consumers who will be able to benefit from comparable conditions when buying holiday packages in any member state.
In giving effect to the EU directive this legislation is in effect, a charter of rights for all EU consumers travelling on package holidays. We are all too well aware of the plight of Irish holiday makers who found themselves stranded abroad when their tour organiser suddenly went out of business or — as has also happened to many people on package holidays — the holiday destination and the services provided did not live up to the exotic promise of the brochure.
The Council of Ministers which, at the time of Ireland's Presidency in 1990, was presided over by Deputy O'Malley, brought forward this very important consumer protection measure. The directive was adopted on 13 June 1990 with a requirement that the implementing legislation be in place in each member state by 31 December 1992. The Minister for Transport, Energy and Communications might inform the House of the reasons his Department has not met that deadline. It would be useful to know the implementation date in other member states for comparison purposes.
From my reading of the Bill, it seems that the Department of Transport, Energy and Communications complied in most respects with the broad requirements of the directive. It is a matter for national law to determine the measures necessary to comply with this directive and whether more stringent provisions should be adopted to give even greater protection to the consumer. This Bill, welcomed by the Progressive Democrats, brings a double benefit. It will benefit the Irish holidaymaker because of the protection afforded while on holiday, but it will also be of immense benefit to the Irish tourism industry as foreign visitors coming here on package holidays promoted by Irish companies will have the benefit of the extra protection requirements and it should help greatly in further establishing Ireland as a good reliable tourist destination.
Any measure which helps to build a good image of Irish tourism is of great value to our economy. This industry has grown in importance over the years, the private and state investment made has helped to greatly increase the number of job opportunities and the industry has been an important revenue earner for the Exchequer.
As Article 10 on page 33 of the Bill indicates this measure was recommended to the Council of Ministers by its then President, my colleague, Deputy O'Malley on 13 June 1990. It is appropriate to acknowledge the contribution made in this area by Deputy O'Malley and his staunch opposition to the European airline cartel which charged such high access fares to this island economy and prevented the growth of travel to and from Ireland for so many years.
Air travel was virtually static from 1978 to 1985. Air fares rose by far more than the rate of inflation. When the Government in 1986 did a U-turn in the course of a Bill to fine and imprison those who discounted airline tickets, there followed a period of sustained growth in Irish air travel and tourism and it is higher than in any OECD country. The Green Paper on Aviation Policy, published a year ago by the then Minister, Deputy Cowen, showed the major benefits to be gained from airline deregulation policies which Deputy O'Malley was the first to espouse in this House in the years 1984 to 1986. That Green Paper quantifies some of the benefits that accrued. It states:
The benefits for Ireland in terms of wealth and employment creation as a result of the policies pursued over the past six years have been significant:
—visitor numbers to Ireland rose to 3.3 million per annum in 1993, an increase of over 60 per cent in 1987;
—over 25,000 jobs have been created in tourism between 1987 and 1993;
—increased tourism and foreign travel earnings amounted to over £560 million since 1987;
—travel by business people has increased by about 50 per cent which undoubtedly has helped our merchandise export drive.
It has now been clearly established that competition in air travel is the first prerequisite to good value for the traveller, however, there is much to be done still to realise this goal in Europe. Air fares in Europe are the highest in the world. European airlines' share of world air travel is falling rapidly. Many European State airlines exist on State handouts, of which the European Union has had to sanction some £10 billion to aid the slumbering State giants to the detriment of more competitive airlines. The control of slots at busy airports by old airlines under the grandfather rights system is a major barrier to competition which the European Union must address by reallocating slots to new airlines in sufficient quantities to make a significant impact. State aids and predatory pricing by large airlines on smaller carriers must also be addressed.
The charter airlines played an important role in getting the customer to his or her sun destination for about a third of the cost of scheduled airlines, according to the Cascade studies carried out by the Civil Aviation Authority. Within geographical Europe charter airlines have about 40 per cent of all passenger miles flown. The charter airlines are typically profitable, low cost and do not require State assistance.
Nonetheless the combination of the elements in a package tour has in the past proved unstable. Holidaymakers have been stranded abroad. Tour operators have gone out of business between taking payments for holidays and the date of those holidays. There has also been a number of cases where brochures have contained misleading information and inaccurate photographs of hotels and other amenities.
The reputable tour operators have been with us for many years and a bonding system is now in operation. Nonetheless, EU Ministers considered there was a need for this directive. A holiday abroad is a major item in any family budget and the anxiety caused by problems in the past had left a strong consumer lobby for Government controls over the package holiday sector. In an ideal economy there would be no need for regulatory controls. Good tour organisers would be kept on their toes by the arrival of new market entrants. In this case the interval between paying for and going on a holiday plus the number of producers in different countries involved in putting the package together, retailing it, providing the air transport and the accommodation, make it difficult for the consumer to apply market sanctions against the provider of an unsatisfactory holiday.
Nonetheless, there are costs resulting from this kind of legislation which are often overlooked. The Governments of Europe will incur legislative and administrative costs at a time when few of them are able to balance their books and virtually all of them levy tax bills which are already excessive. If the package tour industry had been self-regulating, this Bill would not have been required and taxpayers would be better off.
When levies are imposed on all the members of an industry in order to compensate customers of the unsatisfactory members of that industry, we have what is called in insurance terms "moral hazard". The conduct of the bad members of an industry is covered by levies on the customers of the majority in the industry who discharge their duties to the customer in a satisfactory manner. Government intervention in banking and insurance cases is open to this strong criticism, and this Bill incurs the same costs. For example, why should a customer of risky banks, insurance companies and tour operators be compensated by the clientele of banks, insurance companies and tour operators who run their affairs with probity?
There are benefits in terms of consumer protection to be gained from legislation such as this which are sufficient to justify our support for this Bill. Its provisions also involve costs to the public sector in assuming extra responsibilities and for companies' customers.
The European Union directive is comprehensive, covering all the main areas of concern to the travelling consumers, from their original perusal of a colourful and attractive brochure to booking a holiday, involving myriad services, including public and private transport, complicated schedules and timetables, transport by air, sea and road; accommodation, ranging from tents and caravans to registered guesthouses and hotels, luxury liners or hire-out yachts and motor boats; the list is endless.
While my party welcomes the Bill and intends supporting its Second Reading, some of its provisions to which I shall refer, require clarification, as they are causing concern to some people within the industry and among groups that organise cultural and educational tours on a non-commercial basis.
The first issue requiring greater clarification is that of information to be furnished to intending holiday-makers by tour operators or holiday organisers, on health requirements, under the provisions of section 10 (1) (e). It appears that the sponsoring Department and the drafters of this Bill gave insufficient attention to this important provision as the accompanying explanatory memorandum does not even mention it. From time to time we all become aware of unfortunate, sometimes disastrous, sequels to sun holidays through people becoming seriously ill from having eaten some food or drinking contaminated water.
This highlights not only the type of information on health requirements that should be provided to intending holiday makers but also the important issue of ensuring immunisation against particular infectious diseases prevalent in many of the more exotic sun holiday destinations worldwide. For example, the hepatitis A virus, a serious debilitating infection of the liver, is found in areas of southern Europe graded as presenting intermediate risks while Africa, South America and Russia are regarded as high risk areas. Given the serious consequences of contracting hepatitis A, and the risk that arises in some holiday destinations of contracting the even more lethal hepatitis B virus, it is essential that holiday-makers travelling to areas at risk are made aware of the possibility of contracting those serious illnesses and be vaccinated against both forms of hepatitis before departure.
In the light of those health risks it would be appropriate for the Bill to spell out in more specific detail obligations on tour operators to provide intending holiday-makers with fuller information about them. Indeed it would be better still if requirements in relation to health risks in a host country formed part of the essential terms of the holiday contract spelled out in section 14. I urge the Minister to carefully consider upgrading this particular requirement.
I have received representations from the National Youth Council of Ireland expressing concern that the provisions of this Bill — intended to regulate commercial tour operators — do not extend to various organisations engaged in youth and educational exchange tours between this and other European Union member states. The Bill, as drafted, does not draw a distinction between commercial tour operators and groups and organisations engaged in cultural and educational exchange programmes, involving the transport of people between member states of the European Union. Given the non-profit status of educational and exchange organisations, there is a reasonable case for their exemption from some of the commercial requirements and definitions of this Bill, such as having to maintain a reserve fund against possible claims.
I am also aware that the Irish Travel Agents' Association is concerned about the intention to bring the provisions of this Bill into force within three months of its enactment as they have already published half a million brochures for the 1995 holiday season, a reasonable point — its implementation could well await the winter holiday brochures this year. However, it is abundantly clear that the full and effective implementation of these new provisions governing the harmonisation of travel laws between this country and the remainder of the European Union will bring much greater peace of mind to the 350,000 Irish people expected to embark on package holidays this year, while rendering this country a more secure holiday destination for people travelling here from the other 14 member states of the European Union.
I shall raise some further points on Committee Stage but my party will support this Bill.