Michael McGrath (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank all my colleagues who contributed to this debate. We will have another opportunity because there will be a finance Bill 2023. What we are debating here are three financial resolutions. If they are not passed this evening, the result will be that this day next week the VAT on gas and electricity household bills will go up to 13.5%. The VAT on tourism, hospitality, hairdressers, theatres, cinemas, and so on will also go up next week to 13.5% if these resolutions are voted down. Equally, we will also have a restoration of excise duties next week of 21 cent per litre on petrol, 16 cent per litre on diesel and 5 cent on marked gas oil. This is essentially what the vote this evening, if one is called, is all about. Members can have different views on the nature of the deferral and on the plan we have for the restoration of the original tax rates. They are entitled to have different views on all that, but I have set out the bottom line regarding what we are voting on here.

A significant number of issues were raised that I will not be able to respond to given the time available. The carbon tax, however, did come in for a lot of attention and I wish to record that the amount collected last year is estimated to have been close to €800 million. A great deal of opposition was outlined to this tax this evening, but I must put the question: where we will find the alternative revenues if those who want to, essentially, from what I can see, get rid of the carbon tax have their way?

In budget 2023, we allocated €623 million of those hypothecated carbon tax funds. Some €291 million went to residential and community energy efficiency and €218 million was allocated to social protection measures. This was for the qualified child payment, to increase the means limit eligibility for the fuel allowance and to increase the threshold for eligibility for the working family payment. We also provided €81 million from the carbon tax proceeds for green and sustainable farming and €33 million for the continuation of other expenditures. This information was all laid out. On budget day, we publish a paper setting out how the carbon tax proceeds that have been hypothecated are allocated across all these areas. This information is there, it is transparent and it is there to be scrutinised and criticised

I commend these resolutions to the House. It is important that we provide certainty to businesses and households and that the increases in taxes that would otherwise happen in a week's time do not happen. We will have further debate in this regard when finance Bill 2023 is brought forward in the next several weeks.

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