Confidence is growing that duty-free sales will continue after June 1999, the Dail was told. "The winds of change are blowing in favour of retention," said the Minister for Public Enterprise.

Ms O'Rourke described as "extraordinary" the attitude of the EU Commissioner with responsibility for duty free, Mr Mario Monti, who favours abolition.

"He is now saying that drink is bad for you. Presumably perfumes and whatever other delicacies can be purchased are bad for you. Cigarettes are bad for you, that we know. But on that health/luxury premise he is basing his objection now."

And in an apparent warning to Mr Monti, the Minister said "the sooner the Commission understands that the elected ministers are the people the countries send to represent them in their democratic business, the better it will be." EU finance ministers agreed in 1991 that duty-free sales would be abolished in June next year.

Mr Emmet Stagg (Lab, Kildare North), however, reminded the Minister that Fianna Fail was in power in 1991 when finance ministers agreed to abolish duty-free sales. Fianna Fail did not send a minister to the ECOFIN meeting. "Ireland dropped the ball.

"The flurry of activity we have seen in the last two years from the Minister and her colleagues would all have been unnecessary if Fianna Fail had sent a representative to that meeting and vetoed the decision, which Ireland had the absolute 100 per cent right to do. And now you're running around Europe trying to reverse your own decision, and making a big issue of it as if you were some sort of a hero."

Ms O'Rourke agreed with Mr Eamon Gilmore (DL, Dun Laoghaire) that the change in government in Germany had made the difference. It was part of the election manifesto of the German Chancellor, Mr Gerhard Schroder, that he would retain duty-free sales and he represented an area strongly involved in the business. "Obviously, all politics are local," Ms O'Rourke added.

"This measure was meant to blend with overall tax harmonisation," the Minister added. "Tax harmonisation has not happened and without it happening this is an aberration if it is brought in."

She said that unanimity was required from all 15 EU finance ministers. The difference now was that the issue was being tabled by Germany and France. The British and French prime ministers had publicly supported the retention of duty free and Ms O'Rourke said she had received reports that the Swedish finance minister was now prepared to support retention of duty free.

She told Mr Trevor Sargent (Green, Dublin North) that Commissioner Monti argued that travelling by air was for elite people and that in retaining duty free they were pandering to those who were elite.

She believed that was a very antiquated notion, because ordinary people were travelling by plane and abolishing duty free was removing a "small bit of luxury that they might have and an enjoyable part of the travel process".