Eamon Gilmore (Dún Laoghaire, Labour) | Oireachtas source

The carbon tax was not introduced today. It was introduced in 2010. This Government delayed the implementation of the carbon tax on solid fuels in the first instance until after the 2012-13 season and then we decided to introduce it in two phases, last year, 2013, with the implementation of the first €10 per tonne of carbon. The second phase is being introduced today, the second €10 on the tonne of carbon. That brings the tax on a tonne of carbon to €20. Fianna Fáil, in its programme for Government, the recovery document it produced in 2010, told us that it would increase the tax to €30 per tonne. The carbon tax being brought in now is 50% less than that which we inherited at the start of this Government.

We are very conscious of the impact of any rise in the price of fuel on any family. That is why we are maintaining, even in difficult financial circumstances, a fuel allowance regime to which €208 million a year is being committed. It is also why we have focused on providing permanent solutions to the problem of fuel poverty by investing in retrofitting houses to make them more energy efficient. More than €57 million has been allocated to fund efficiency grant programmes in 2014. This will lead to another 12,000 low income homes being made efficient. Maybe in the second part of my answer I can inform Deputy Doherty of the other measures being taken to reduce the burden of fuel costs on hard-pressed families.

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