LEO TO HIT US ALL WITH CARBON TAX
Levy bid to change behaviours says Varadkar ‘More must be done to help thousands struggling to put food on the table’
LEO Varadkar wants to hit homeowners with a carbon tax but would like help from other parties to impose it.
The Taoiseach also claims he needs to find a way of handing the cash collected back to citizens who save energy.
He said the tax was less to do with raising money and more about changing behaviours.
While the Government did not raise the rate in the last Budget, some are expected in the coming years as Ireland strives to meet legally-binding targets on cutting emissions.
The current levy on use of fossil fuels is levied at €20 per tonne.
There is already an existing carbon tax passed on to consumers through their bills.
Recent research by the Economic and Social Research Institute indicate a massive rise would be required in the next decade – to €300 per tonne – if Ireland is to meet its commitments to reducing CO2.
Mr Varadkar said: “I am of the view carbon tax is there for a reason, it’s an environmental tax designed to change behaviour.
“It’s not designed to take money out of your pocket, that’s why I’m very much of the view the money raised from households should be given back to households.”
But there are fears the charge would amount to little more than another property tax while the Government was failing to even come close to meeting EU emission targets. It was recently THE Government needs to do more to tackle the number of people struggling to feed themselves, it’s been claimed.
Fianna Fail’s Willie O’dea said yesterday figures he had obtained show revealed 90% of all energy used here in 2017 came from fossil fuels.
Mr Varadkar said the Government was considering two models.
The first would see people receive a direct payment, the second would deliver savings through the tax and benefits system.
He added: “You can either give everyone a carbon cheque in the post, you can do up to the end of November around €8.9million had been spent in Ireland on food aid through the Fund For European Aid To The Most Deprived.
It supports EU countries so they can provide material and food assistance to those struggling to get by in society. that by individual or by household and you get that upfront. That’s designed to compensate you for the cost of the carbon. “Those who use a lot of carbon don’t benefit as much, those who have low-carbon lifestyles benefit more. “You can do it that way or you can do it through the tax and welfare system such as an increase in child benefit funded by the carbon tax or an increase in tax credits and welfare. “We haven’t decided which to go Deputy O’dea said: “While this fund is welcome, it is worrying a significant number of people are dependent on this fund for food, which is a most basic necessity.
“From the information I received, approximately €8.9million has been for. I would like to get an all-party consensus around it, so what I propose to do is develop a proposal in the first two months of the New Year and put that out to the other parties to see if they are willing to be supportive of it.”
Mr Varadkar said if the tax rate was increased in this autumn’s Budget, consideration would be required on whether the move would come into effect immediately, or after the winter.
He added: “On carbon tax, you would have to consider if you would bring it in on Budget night, which you can do, or you might time it to come in later in the year due to winter costs.
“So you would have consider that.” to spent on food aid as of the end of November 2018.
“Furthermore, it was also revealed in 2017, though a network of charitable partnership organisations, the Department distributed almost 1,000 tonnes of food to almost 96,000 people.”