Ryanair, which announced on Friday that former Finance Minister Charlie McCreevy had joined its board, today claimed the €10 travel tax is responsible for the collapse of Irish tourism. It suggests the recession is irrelevant in an argument for voodoo economics.

Charlie McCreevy, as Finance Minister in the period 1997-2004 was identified with cutting taxes and providing tax breaks to fuel the property bubble, is No. 3 in the Finfacts list of the people and institutions responsible for the Irish economic crash. It is ironic that the No. 1, former Taoiseach Bertie Ahern used to be castigated in newspaper advertisements by Ryanair CEO Michael O'Leary. So is the famous O'Leary public bluster a lot of spoof?   

Ryanair today published what it termed 'irrefutable' evidence that the Irish Government is responsible for the collapse in Irish tourism as new (independent) statistics show traffic growth has returned to those EU countries that do not impose tourist taxes. It says these statistics disprove Minister Noel Dempsey’s claims that the fall in traffic and tourism is ‘an international phenomenon’ and proves that Irish tourism is being devastated by the Government's €10 tourist tax.

McCreevy was used of being lobbied for tax breaks and Ryanair's argument that the severest recession since the 1930s which has impacted its business of ferrying workers from Eastern Europe to the UK and Ireland  is irrelevant. What matters is the equivalent of the cost of two pints of Guinnness - - a  €10 travel tax. It is one of these cases when commonsense rules over any commissioned or independent report.

The low fares airline says the report highlights that Irish seat capacity (which drives passenger numbers) collapsed by over 140,000 in April and by over 700,000 so far in 2010. Seat capacity continues to decline in Ireland, the UK and France - - the only European countries which continue to impose tourist taxes. By contrast, growth has returned to countries which have scrapped tourist taxes (Belgium and Holland) or reduced airport charges, in some cases to zero, (Spain) to stimulate tourism growth.

Ryanair warned that this downward trend at Irish airports will worsen throughout 2010 as the DAA (Dublin Airport Authority) makes Ireland even more uncompetitive with a 40% increase in the airport charges to pay for its €1.2bn T2 white elephant.

Ryanair’s Stephen McNamara said: “The RDC Aviation report shows that those countries, like Ireland, which impose tourist taxes continue to decline and disproves the Dept of Transport’s claims that the continuing record collapse in traffic at Dublin Airport is ‘an international phenomenon’. The Irish Govt’s €10 tourist tax and high charges at the DAA Monopoly have made Dublin an uncompetitive, expensive destination. Growth has returned throughout Europe except in Ireland, the UK and France which are the only major European countries to tax tourists instead of welcoming them.

“Ireland’s traffic and tourism decline will increase when charges at the DAA Monopoly rocket by over 40% in October as the Dept of Transport rewards the DAA for its traffic decline and the €1.2bn white elephant, T2. Unfortunately 2010 will be even worse than 2009 in terms of lost visitors, jobs and tourism revenues in Ireland. It is time to axe this stupid €10 tourist tax and slash the DAA’s high fees”.

It would be charitable to call Ryanair's ignoring of the recession in Ireland, in its case against the travel tax, voodoo economics.

Finfacts article, April 2010: Irish Economy: Ahern, Harney, McCreevy, Cowen and the other individuals/groups with responsibility for the economic crash