Ciarán Cannon (Fine Gael)

In particular, it will levy this tax on the farming sector. In the way this tax has been conceived, those of us who put diesel in our cars will experience approximately a 4.4% increase or farmers who put diesel in their tractors will experience a 8.7% increase in their costs. On the day when the ESRI tells us our carbon emissions are reducing because of the recession, one wonders if the aim of this tax is to depress economic activity in this country further to ensure we have the consequent reduction in carbon emissions.

The Minister, Deputy Ó Cuív, said during a radio programme yesterday evening that his assessment and reasoning behind the carbon tax was to effect behavioural change. I would support a carbon tax that sets out to do that but farmers do not have the option of behavioural change when it comes to a carbon tax. They have no other option but to start their tractors in the morning and tend to their animals, stock and land. What do the people proposing this tax expect farmers to do? Should they go back to using a horse and cart? There is no option available to farmers. In particular, there is no option available to agricultural contractors. In the Taoiseach's constituency this week, two agricultural contractors have had their machinery repossessed by the banks that we effectively own.

If the Government worked with the farming sector, which is a very environmentally aware sector, it could effect that kind of behavioural change over a period of time by perhaps encouraging them to grow crops that would result in them using biodiesel in their tractors but instead of working with the farming sector it will impose this tax which will have no effect other than further depressing farm incomes, which the CSO has told us dropped by 30% last year.