Taoiseach: “Let us not be dishonest in any way about what a carbon tax means. It means that it will be more expensive for people to fill their cars.”
Taoiseach Leo Varadkar has said householders will have to pay more for electricity, gas and for petrol and diesel due to a hike in carbon taxes the government will roll out in the coming years.
An increase in the tax on carbon is required over the coming years if Ireland is to meet it's international global warming targets according to Mr. Varadkar.
He told the Dáil that a new ESRI report, which suggests households may need to pay €3,000 a year in carbon taxes, in order for Ireland to avoid EU fines, is “way off the mark”.
Speaking to the Dáil about what an increase in the carbon tax means today, the Taoiseach said:
“Let us not be dishonest in any way about what a carbon tax means. It means that it will be more expensive for people to fill their cars with diesel or petrol. It will increase the cost of transport for the haulage industry, it will have impacts on agriculture, and it will make it more expensive to buy electricity and gas.
The adaptions that can be made to mitigate those effects will not happen in the first year, nor the second, nor the third. Even with the best intentions they will take time to make happen. For some people it will never be possible because of where they live. The best way to get this done is to do it on a cross-party basis, unlike they way in which we dealt with water. We should agree to a trajectory over ten years. I would be up for that,” he said.
The model the Taoiseach said Ireland would like to follow is that in Canada whereby a trajectory for increasing carbon tax by a certain increment up to 2030 is set out. An agreed price is also set out, “perhaps something like €80 per tonne which is the amount suggested by the Climate Change Advisory Council”, said Varadkar.
Ireland is falling far short of achieving its 2020, 2030 and 2050 climate change targets.
