Donegal Airport, Carrickfin, Co. Donegal

The Minister for Finance, Brian Lenihan, TD today announced that he intends to bring forward legislation to exempt from the €10 per flight Air Travel Tax (with effect from the commencement date of the tax, 30 March 2009) those airports that had less than 50,000 departing passengers in the previous calendar year. Currently, the exemption threshold for airports included in the Air Travel Tax is 10,000 departing passengers in the previous year. Currently it exemption will apply to Donegal Airport, and Sligo Airport.

Lenihan's colleague, Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment, Mary Coughlan, represents a Donegal constituency.

John Gibbons in the Irish Times wrote last Thursday in respect of taxpayer subsidies for domestic flights:"Taxpayers’ money comes in the form of direct subsidies known as Public Service Obligations (PSOs). These are handed out to airlines to prop up internal flights. These subsidies amount to an average direct subvention of over €140 for every single passenger on an internal flight made on the six routes covered by PSOs. Between 2002-2008, these cost the taxpayer almost €100 million. This is no small beer."

In making the announcement the Minister said today:“During the Committee Stage of the Finance (No. 2) Bill 2008, and since, concerns have been raised regarding the impact the air travel tax could have on small peripheral airports and their ability to develop new routes. The importance of such airports to their local areas has also been stressed. I indicated that I would take the matter into account and reflect on it.
Having further considered the matter I have decided that flights departing from the smaller airports, which under the existing legislation would be subject to the air travel tax, should be excluded from the air travel tax. This can be best achieved by increasing the current exemption threshold for airports of 10,000 departing passengers in the previous calendar year to 50,000.

It is desirable that flights departing those airports be exempted from the start of the air travel tax. Consequently I have asked the Revenue Commissioners, and they have agreed, to apply the intended revised 50,000 departing passenger exemption threshold pending the necessary legislative change being enacted.”

Based on passenger data the airports that will benefit from this increased exemption threshold are Donegal Airport, Carrickfin, Co. Donegal, and Sligo Airport, Strandhill, Co. Sligo.