Brendan Howlin (Wexford, Labour) | Oireachtas source

Our view is that everything gathered from carbon taxes should be used to assist those will be impacted by it - not by giving everybody a cheque in the post but by ensuring that the most vulnerable are completely protected. We can do that by ensuring their houses are insulated and they have alternative fuels but that is for another day.

On Monday, the International Energy Agency urged the Irish Government to publish more transparent emissions target. The agency is right to point out the lack of definition regarding our climate action commitments. The climate action committee called on the Government to introduce annual carbon budgets, to cap the annual level of carbon emissions in each sector of the economy and to reduce these caps year on year. Will the Government confirm now that it will introduce transparent carbon budgets for the economy beginning with this year's budget?

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