Alasdair McDonnell
Main Page: Alasdair McDonnell (Social Democratic & Labour Party - Belfast South)Department Debates - View all Alasdair McDonnell's debates with the Northern Ireland Office
(11 years, 12 months ago)
Commons ChamberRead Full debate Read Hansard Text Read Debate Ministerial Extracts
Dr Alasdair McDonnell (Belfast South) (SDLP)
Does the Secretary of State agree with me, and with many members of the business community in Northern Ireland, that air passenger duty charges are inhibiting business access and activity, and making it even more difficult to achieve growth and business development?
Mr Swire
I think that this is an opportunity for the Chancellor to be given some credit for responding to what the Executive wanted and having air passenger duty devolved, which is good news for Northern Ireland. We want more flights into and out of Belfast, and we are on the right road towards achieving that. We have also saved the flights to Heathrow, which is good news for the businesses in the hon. Gentleman’s constituency.