Timmy Dooley (Clare, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

In supporting Financial Resolution No. 1, Fianna Fáil recognises the important role increases in excise duty play with regard to behavioural change in the consumption of tobacco and the associated cost to the Exchequer of treating those with tobacco-related illnesses. The increase proposed is a proportionate and progressive measure aimed at improving public health and reducing public spending on avoidable tobacco-related illnesses.

Fianna Fáil supports the carbon tax increase in Financial Resolution No. 2 from €20 per tonne to €26 per tonne. It is a moderate increase which is in line with recommendations made by the joint committee which suggests carbon charging must reach €30 per tonne by 2030. While Fianna Fáil supports the principle, we were adamant in pre-budget discussions with the Government and at the joint committee that the money raised, which will be approximately €90 million this year, is ring-fenced. It should be provided for in legislation that the money cannot go to the bottom line of the Exchequer. The suggestion in today's budget is that the money will be used to support households which are prone to fuel poverty and communities affected by the winding down of fossil-fuel power generation in the midlands, in particular by Bord na Móna.

It is imperative that the Government gives due recognition to the impact on communities in Clare where Moneypoint has already seen significant electricity-generation job losses. From its response, the Government is clearly not listening to its own members in Fine Gael who should be well aware that there has been a significant reduction in the number of jobs at Moneypoint in the last number of years, particularly in the last 12 months. There are independent contractors who are no longer employed and a redundancy scheme will see a reduction from 200 to close to 100 jobs. Communities in west Clare have been impacted very detrimentally and we need to see them supported in the Finance Act.

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