TAOISEACH MICHEÁL MARTIN has said the government must “deal with climate change once and for all” as he rejected calls to postpone a planned hike to Carbon Tax.
Carbon Tax is set to increase by €7.50 in May for home fuels, brining the cost to €41 per tonne. The increase for petrol and diesel already took effect after October’s budget.
An Taoiseach fielded various queries during Leaders’ Questions today about the increasing cost of living, with Sinn Féin, the Labour Party and the Rural Independent Group all raising the issue.
Sinn Fein leader Mary Lou McDonald TD said increasing Carbon Tax was “the wrong call at the wrong time”.
“This hike will increase gas bills and push home heating oil up substantially at a time when people are struggling. Carbon Tax hikes add to the cost of everything, particularly food due to increased transport costs and farmers have been telling you this for a long time but you just haven’t listened,” McDonald said.
Mattie McGrath TD of the Rural Independent Group said that Carbon Tax was “key contributing factor” to the rising cost of living, saying that it “a bruising impact” on the prices of homemade electricity, petrol and diesel.
In response, Martin said the income from Carbon Tax goes “back to the people” in the form of income supports such as the fuel allowance and help for low income farmers to improve their environmental practices.
He also pointed to the government’s €25,000 home retrofitting grant scheme.
He also rejected, McGrath’s claim that Carbon Tax was a key contributor to inflation.
“This time last year a barrel of oil on international markets traded at $61 a barrell. Today, it’s at $91. That wasn’t caused by Carbon Tax, that is a global phenomenon,” he said.
Labour’s Ged Nash TD said the government’s retrofit scheme is “likely to be unaffordable for many” and that “the only way” to meaningfully help is for low paid workers to have a pay increase.
“Change the legislation governing the Low Pay Commission to instruct it to move towards a roadmap for the introduction of a living wage in this country,” Nash told An Taoiseach.
Carbon budgets
Yesterday, the Oireachtas Climate Committee released a report on the proposed carbon budgets which set out the maximum amount of greenhouse gases that may be emitted in Ireland during a five-year period, the first covering 2021-2025.
The budget proposals were put forward by the Climate Change Advisory Council last year. Environment Minister Eamon Ryan will bring a finalised plan to government for consideration later this month.
Three members voted against the approval of the draft budgets as they stand.
In the Dáil today, committee member Jennifer Whitmore TD of the Social Democrats said the Dáil motion on carbon budgets was “going through without debate” and that committee members were not given the opportunity to contribute “to the body of that report”.
“There are concerns that the actual body of the report does not reflect the very stark evidence given by the independent scientists,” she said.
People Before Profit TD Paul Murphy also criticised the government’s approach to the committee report, saying that it was trying to “ram through” the report.
In response, an Taoiseach said that deputies were attempting to “delay the day of reckoning”.
“We had it earlier in the cost of living debate. When people were saying postpone the Carbon Tax, just postpone it. And the same will happen with carbon budgets and everybody will say it’s not enough. But when actual specific measures are going to be put on the table in respect to realising these objectives. Everybody will oppose them, ” he said.
The younger generation of this country need us, need this Oireachtas to deal with climate change once and for all. We can’t keep on postponing climate change, we can’t keep on delaying climate change.
“Every time there’s a big conference like COP 26 or whatever everybody’s all to do for about a week or two but once we try and do something concrete, there’s objections.”
- With reporting by Orla Dwyer
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