Maurice Quinlivan (Limerick City, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister. I listened carefully to what he said and do not agree with a lot of it. Hard choices will have to be made; we all agree with that. This generation faces a climate emergency and we all have a role to play in addressing it. However, guilting those who earn the least is not the approach to take. Oxfam tells us the world's richest 1% cause double the CO₂emissions of the poorest 50%, yet in this country we propose additional carbon taxes that will disproportionately affect those on low to middle incomes. That is a fact, though the Minister might not like to hear it.

In this State, those on lower and middle incomes spend a higher proportion of their income on food, electricity and home heating. Many people are now experiencing a cost-of-living crisis as well. People are choosing between heating their homes or paying their rents. Rents have increased across the board over the past 12 months. In the same period, home heating has increased by 50%, petrol by 30% and gas by 28%. Now the Government wants to introduce another charge for our least well off. Government Members are delusional if they think this is acceptable. They are out of touch and have no idea how much people are struggling.

The Government could, and should, have established an expert advisory group on energy poverty before pushing ahead with this increase but it chose not to and opted out of that. The carbon tax is a commitment in the programme for Government but no advisory group has been established on increasing the cost on low- to middle-income families. Yet the Government can establish a drawn-out review before committing to a living wage for those on the breadline. That living wage will not be introduced prior to the 1 May increase in carbon taxes on fuel to heat homes, if it is ever introduced. It gives an appreciation of the priorities of this Government. That is okay because people can retrofit and insulate their homes under the home energy upgrade scheme, while renters will be at the good grace of their landlord, who may opt to participate in the scheme. Others will face the challenges of covering 55% of the cost. I am not sure how the Government expects those on low to middle incomes to fork out up to €25,000 for retrofitting or to purchase an electric car. The carbon tax does nothing to alleviate pressure on renters and little to address the climate crisis we are in.

Before coming in I checkeddaft.ie. I selected residential properties for sale at €300,000 or less in Limerick city and its suburbs. Of 144 properties listed, six had a BER of B2 or higher. People will pay a significant amount to heat their home and that amount will rise with the introduction of carbon tax. I am not afraid to quote the ESRI. That institute has acknowledged that its research did not take account of energy poverty, defined as "an inability to heat or power a home to an adequate degree", yet the Government is determined to plough ahead with this tax increase. It has been stated that the Government will put aside €3.5 billion in revenue raised to address fuel poverty but the ESRI has acknowledged that an increase of €6.50 in the fuel allowance would leave the poorest 20% in society worse off after the carbon tax. I call on the Government to scrap the increases, do the right thing and not to pile further pressure on low- to middle-income earners.

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