Seán Canney (Galway East, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I will speak to amendments Nos. 73 and 75 with regard to the carbon tax on agricultural diesel. Earlier, we spoke about safety on the family farm and the equipment and tax concessions or rebates. We were applauding one another on the fact this was being introduced and that it is a great move. What the carbon tax will mean for farmers trying to eke out a living for themselves and their families is that they will pay more in tax and they do not know when or how they will get the alternative. The alternative will be the electric tractor, electric machinery or another form of an autonomous vehicle they can use on their land. This will not happen in 2021. Even if it were available, the cost would probably be prohibitive.

We have to look at this, and the motivation for our group in tabling the amendment was to highlight the issue. Where there is no alternative for farmers, the Government should not be taxing them. I strongly believe the Government should consider this. We have asked the Minister to do a report in the first 90 days on how he would exclude agricultural diesel from the carbon tax. It would be a very small token to offer to the farming community when there is no alternative. We spoke about the just transition and the fact that the carbon tax would be a fund to help us with it. I fail to see where in the just transition we will fit the farmer who is paying more and who has no alternative. I ask the Minister to consider the fact that this tax is coming prematurely for the farmers who have no alternative. Effectively, it is an additional tax.

I want to speak about fuel poverty. We have introduced schemes such as the SEAI scheme for improving insulation in houses and we introduced a 100% grant for households that are getting a fuel allowance. Those applying today will be told they will have to wait 24 months before an engineer will come out to inspect the property to decide the types of measures that can be done. At the same time, if a family or older couple in fuel poverty need a car, which most people in rural Ireland do, they will pay more for fuel for their vehicles. They will not get a benefit from the fact the house is not being heated. They will find again that they are paying a tax without reaping a just reward or being part of the just transition.

We have heard other speakers discuss public transport and the fact we have very little. Last night, I was standing in Kildare Street and seven public transport buses passed one after another with signs for different places. If I saw that in County Galway in Tuam, Gort, Loughrea, Kinvara or Headford, I would ask what was going on because we had a proper public transport system. However, we do not.

Because people are trapped and they do not have an alternative, we are penalising them prematurely. While we need to have a carbon fund we need to make sure that alternatives are in place where we are gathering the funding so people can change their habits. We all agree that one of the basic fundamentals to make climate action work will be getting people to change the way they do their business and how they travel to work, and all of this has to be taken into account. We say we have to educate our young people, but while we do not have the infrastructure in areas where no transport is available, we should not be penalising people by taxing them.

I said yesterday, and I say again today, that the west and north west are regressing in terms of economic development. This has been told to us by the European Commission. That area is now in transition and it has been downgraded. This means the amount of funding being spent per capitain the area is approximately one third of what it is on the east coast. If we continue with taxation systems that do not take into account the regionality of our country, the diversity we have and the complete inequality in services, we will continue to leave these places lagging behind. The principle of the just transition is that we will leave nobody behind. I ask the Minister to look at this from the point of view that these measures will leave a lot of people behind.

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