Don’t hit taxpayers over climate issues

CLIMATE change is one of the biggest challenges facing the world today.

It is also worth noting Ireland is some way behind other European Union nations when it comes to addressing the situation. There really is no excuse for this.

Against that backdrop, Leo Varadkar is insisting on an increased carbon tax in the forthcoming budget. Nobody, least of all this newspaper, could reasonably claim that some sort of levies aren’t required.

But there are questions to be asked about exactly how the charges are implemented. Despite his relatively privileged upbringing, Mr Varadkar has long portrayed himself as a champion of the average middleclass worker.

The Taoiseach famously remarked that he will ‘never apologise for standing up for people who get up early in the morning, who work nights and weekends, who aspire for something better for themselves and their families’. He added that those same individuals’ taxes ‘fund public services and keep our welfare system afloat’.

No-one among us could argue with such fine words. However, those same sentiments are at odds with what an increased carbon tax is likely to mean in reality.

The bottom line is that vast numbers of taxpayers have little option other than to drive to work on a daily basis. It is the same when it comes to dropping their children to school or doing the weekly shopping. Even if they hate the idea, plenty of people have no alternative to getting behind the wheel.

At the very least, any extra charges should be ring-fenced to specifically deal with environmentally related matters. That is perhaps the only way to successfully address the issue. Anything else will simply look like the Government is taking us to the cleaners once again.