Hanafin sought hold on travel tax

THE Minister for Tourism, Mary Hanafin wrote to the Minister for Finance, Brian Lenihan in the run-up to the budget urging him to suspend the contentious €10 air travel tax for two years.

In a letter released through the Freedom of Information Act, Minister Hanafin told Minister Lenihan that “in the event that the carriers respond positively to this reduction in costs, its suspension could be extended indefinitely on the basis of the additional tax revenues generated by the additional tourism traffic generated by the carriers”.

In her letter, dated October 13 last, Minister Hanafin told Minister Lenihan that the air travel tax should be suspended for a period up to two years “given the extraordinary adverse conditions which have affected the Irish tourist industry in recent years, most recently the impact of the volcanic ash disruption on the viability of our air access links”.