Mr. David Owens:

Again, the Department of Finance tends not to be super keen on hypothecated tax revenue. It is an additional loop and, somewhat like the small savings green bond, it is expensive to do. In international fora such as the Coalition of Finance Ministers for Climate Action, we have pointed to the carbon tax and how businesses like it because it is understood and it is programmed out to 2030. It can therefore be factored into businesses' decisions, the dreaded net present value, NPV, calculations and so on. The fact that it is hypothecated and clearly goes towards things such as the just transition, which means the Department of Social Protection gets quite a big allocation from it, is a defence of sorts for increasing a tax at a time of cost-of-living and energy issues. I will answer the question in that way.