Kenny not making promises over flight levies for regional airports

The Fine Gael leader Enda Kenny has said he is not making any promises about the retention of the State-subsidised Public Service Obligation levy for flights from Dublin to Kerry and other regional airports.

However, Mr Kenny said he will scrap the tourist tax.

In January, the Department of Transport announced that the PSO contract between Kerry and Dublin will be renewed next July, along with the Donegal one.

However the routes to Sligo, Knock, Galway and Derry will not be retained.

There have been no PSO-subsided flights operating from Kerry since Ryanair pulled out of its contract in November.

Enda Kenny has told Radio Kerry that while he will not make any promises now about the contracts, he is committed to increasing the number of people coming into the country.

Meanwhile, The Fine Gael leader has described as "unfounded" fears about job losses in the Gaeltacht, due to the party’s proposal to scrap compulsory Irish for the Leaving Cert.

The party's Kerry South election candidate Brendan Griffin has broken ranks with his party over the policy.

Mr Griffin believes it could lead to job losses in Gaeltacht areas, where students from all over the country come every summer to practice their spoken Irish.

But Enda Kenny has said the proposal will strengthen the Irish language.