Michael Fitzmaurice (Roscommon-Galway, Independent) | Oireachtas source

From the point of view of farmers, contractors and the carbon tax on the agricultural sector, I ask people to have a look at the position relating to beef and sheep. Farmers are trying to produce a quality product, but they are not getting enough of a price to even keep family farms going. We are considering contractors and farmers. There will be reference to double taxation for the farmer. That only applies to a limited number of people, however, as probably 90% of all work is done by contractors. There are few alternatives to the machinery used in that work. Electric tractors are not in Ireland yet and the machinery used all runs on diesel. That is the reality, and solutions have not even been enacted in Europe. We need to ensure that we send out a signal that we at least care about these people. Yet, in their hour of need, we are giving them a kick in the teeth with this carbon tax. It is anti-rural and anti-farmer and any Government that brings this tax in should think twice about what it is doing. Do we want rural Ireland to survive or do we want to pack it with wolves, as some in this House have suggested?

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