Ireland's air travel tax has been reduced from €10 (£8.38) to €3 (£2.52) per passenger as part of a bid to drive up inbound tourism numbers.
It is among a package of measures to be introduced as part of the government's Budget for 2011, which aims to "correct" the country's economy by €6bn (£5bn).
Minister Mary Hanafin said: "Implementing this measure will mean the government taking in some €56m (£46.9m) less in tax but the knock on benefits will be felt throughout the wider industry."
The overall allocation for tourism is nearly €148m (£124m), including more than €62.5m (£52.4m) for Fáilte Ireland to help support and develop the sector .
Meanwhile, the culture and sport sectors will receive €150m (£125.7m) and more than €91.5m (£76.7m) respectively.
The Budget for 2011 is regarded as one of the toughest austerity budgets in the country's history and forms part of a four-year strategy to correct Ireland's ailing economy.
Image: Tourism Ireland/Nutan
