asked the Minister for Transport why he has sanctioned the £99 air fare from Dublin to London and if profits from this route are used to subsidise other Aer Lingus activities or services.

I have not yet formally approved the increase in the normal economy return fare on the Dublin/London route to £99. However I will allow this fare to be applied unless I disapprove it.

There are, of course, a range of fares available apart from the normal economy fare. For example, the excursion fare available to those who stay for six to 30 days is £82 and there is also an advance purchase—that is APEX—fare available at £64.

Normally all cross-channel and European services operated by Aer Lingus recover the direct cost of operation and make some contribution to control charges and overheads. This contribution varies from route to route.

I should add that the charge per mile on the Dublin/London route is lower than that on comparable international routes in Europe. This was confirmed recently in a report on travel costs and services between Britain and Ireland published by the Federation of Irish Societies in Britain.

On the basis of the information available I am not in a position to say to what extent the revenue from particular routes such as the Dublin/London route may be said to subsidise other Aer Lingus activities or services.

While the Minister's reply may be correct that the Dublin/London fare is comparable with other European fares of the same length, is he aware that it is three or four times greater than comparable fares in North America?

May I remind the Deputy that the increase on the London route is 16 per cent and the average increase on the UK provincial routes is 23 per cent, the continental routes 23 per cent and the North Atlantic routes 17 per cent? That speaks for itself.

Is the Minister aware that it is still three or four times higher than the comparable rates in the USA and Canada?

The information I have just given clearly amplifies that the London route is not anything like what it could be if normal cost variations were taken into consideration over a number of years and it is not anything like as high as people think it to be.

Is it not true that British Airways are operating a cheaper flight than Aer Lingus and, if so, why?

Aer Lingus offer cheaper flights than the £99. As I have already said, they have the six to 30 days for £82 and the advance fare, the APEX fare, available at £64.

It is still cheaper than that.

I must compare like with like.

When the Minister says that the cost per mile between Dublin and London compares favourably with any other international route, how does he explain that it is much cheaper to fly from Belfast to London than it is from Dublin to London? It is about £20 cheaper on the return flight. Why is that?

I am not aware why. I did not say precisely what the Deputy attributed to me.

I do not know what the Minister said precisely.

It makes a difference to the answer one would get. I did not say what the Deputy attributed to me.

I understood the Minister to say that the cost of travel per mile between Dublin and London compared favourably with the cost between any two international cities in Europe.

That is not what I said.

Why does it cost £20 more to fly from Dublin to London than from Belfast to London?

One must compare like with like when comparing fares, services and everything else. The supplementary that arose arose from some interpretation of what the Deputy said that I said, but that is not what I said. Because of that the Deputy has totally misconstrued the whole situation.

The Minister has me confused.

Why do people living in the ancient province of Ulster, the nine-county Ulster, who wish to travel to London, travel to London cheaper by £20 if they go through Belfast rather than Dublin?

The remaining questions will appear on tomorrow's Order Paper.

Will the Deputy expand on what he is saying? Perhaps the Deputy is talking about a walk-on/walk-off service or a shuttle service. There are different situations for every fare.

Question Time is now over. Deputy Kelly on the Finance Bill.

The Minister has not answered.

One must compare like with like.

Order, please. Question Time is over.