The Government had a majority of 11 in the first vote on the Budget last night. After a dispute on the first financial resolution, the Government won the division by 77 to 66. Fine Gael and Labour had demanded that the £5 tax on foreign travel should be abolished immediately rather on January 1st, 2000. The Taoiseach, Mr Ahern, said the tax, which this year would generate £18 million, would be abolished from January 1st next. Removing the tax would be good for Tourism and Business.
The Fine Gael leader, Mr John Bruton, said he was opposing the motion symbolically because women who stayed in the home "don't count for anything" with this Government.
Mr Joe Higgins (Socialist, Dublin West) believed the tax should be abolished now and should never have been introduced, but he was not going to vote against it because that was "gameplaying".
Mr Sean Power (FF, Kildare South) called on the Opposition to "cop themselves on". They were prepared to put u with the tax for the past seventeen years and now "all of a sudden" were demanding it to be dropped on December 1st rather than January 1st.
