Paschal Donohoe (Dublin Central, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

We covered some of this earlier but I appreciate that the Deputy raising it again. I will just make a few points in response. The change we made to the diesel rebate scheme provides insulation for the haulage sector on foot of the change we have made to carbon pricing. That in itself is the subject of criticism because many claim the haulage sector contributes to carbon emissions. It is asked, therefore, why it should be shielded from the effect of a change in carbon price that seeks to reduce emissions in the long term.

We made a change to the haulage rebate scheme because the sector is vital for the smooth functioning of our economy and, as an island economy, haulage is particularly important. With the uncertainty of Brexit, I did not want to add another layer of uncertainty to an important part of the economy. The change we have made offers protection from the change in carbon pricing. The opportunity to increase carbon pricing is being used to try to change the rebate scheme more broadly but I believe the scheme, as structured, offers an appropriate degree of support to the haulage sector and a degree of protection that many other parts of the economy do not have. I have offered to send the Deputy an example of how we believe the rebate scheme will work and showing how it will offer protection against the effects of the change in carbon pricing. More often than not, one cannot measure whether what we do is good by reference simply to what an industry wants but we believe the change we have made offers support to the haulage sector.