GREEN HOMES GET BIGGER CHEQUES.. Lobster Eve’s very claw-ky
TD Bruton insists carbon tax ‘about shifting behaviour’
A RARE calico lobster has been spared the boiling pot thanks to its 1-in-30 million mutation.
The owner of Ocean City Seafood in Maryland noticed the crustacean in a batch caught near Maine.
The lobster, now called Eve, is set for an aquarium. GREENER households can expect a bigger carbon tax cheque in the post, TD Richard Bruton has indicated.
The Environment Minister was speaking at a Fine Gael parliamentary think-in ahead of the Dail returning today after almost a month’s holiday.
He insisted the increased tax set to kick in next year was not about punishing consumers or about raising more cash for the Government.
Instead he said it was about encouraging people to change their behaviour and rewarding them for doing so.
Mr Bruton said he has taken on board the argument “a cheque in the post” was “something tangible” that households could see proves their greener lifestyle changes are worth it.
Taoiseach Leo Varadkar suggested before Christmas the new cheque rebate could be brought in, with those polluting less getting more back.
This will offset hikes in carbon tax that will see consumers paying more for petrol and diesel and burning coal and turf.
Ireland must drastically reduce emissions nationally to meet an international deadline of 2030 and a carbon tax is one way to effectively move people away from dirtier fossil fuels.
Mr Bruton said: “I think we do need to hear people’s views on how carbon tax should be refunded to them.
“This isn’t a money grab to take money out of your pocket, this is trying to help people to make decisions that are for the long-term good.” Bruton