Matt Carthy (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein)

The carbon tax is unique. There is nowhere else we can point to in the current budget where we can say with certainty, "This is what the Government plans to do". We cannot tell pensioners where their pension will be in five years' time but we can tell them by how much precisely Fianna Fáil, Fine Gael and those champions of rural Ireland, the Healy-Raes et al., are going to increase the cost of heating their home. We cannot tell motorists how much money will be given to fund the roads network or precisely how much will go to improving transport connectivity, but we can tell them exactly how much money will be added to the cost of driving to work. The worst is that none of this actually works. The money is not ring-fenced, despite what the Government protests. This is a revenue-collecting measure that disproportionately affects working-class, poorer and rural households. Does the Minister accept and appreciate just how bizarre this situation is? Will he finally see sense and engage constructively in order that we can tackle environmental challenges without fleecing ordinary workers and families?

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