Paul Gavan (Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Sinn Féin is opposed to sections 27 to 30, inclusive, of this Bill. This is an area that really concerns me because the carbon tax is fundamentally regressive. When I raised the issue with the Minister of State earlier in the week, he came back with an answer that stated that "on carbon tax on low income households, the budget provides three measures". He mentioned the €3.50 increase in the fuel allowance, the qualifying child dependant allowance and the living alone allowance. The problem is that we know from OECD figures that one in four workers in this State is a low wage worker. I will provide the concrete example of a couple who are both on minimum wage. They will face a 39% increase in carbon taxes next year, when they have to heat their home and drive their cars.What support will that couple get in this budget? They will get no support and that is the case for hundreds of thousands of workers across the State. This tax is fundamentally unfair. It is regressive and the Department has confirmed it is regressive. For the most part, low-paid workers will get absolutely no support and in particular people in rural areas who depend on cars will get no support unless they are the poorest of the poor. We have the third largest segment of low-paid workers in any EU state. Hundreds of thousands of workers are facing significant increases in carbon taxes with no support whatsoever. It is not good enough. That is why Sinn Féin stands opposed to this.

The carbon tax is a regressive tax. It does not tackle the producers, the sellers of the fossil fuels. The Government is basically asking householders to pay the fees. Let us not forget that householders and taxpayers already pay €480 million through the PSO levy on their electricity bills meaning that we are already making a contribution. It is not just Sinn Féin; people who class themselves as part of the just transition part of the Green Party agree with us. They see it as fundamentally unfair.

There is no evidence that carbon tax actually reduces emissions. From a practical point of view, we know why that is the case. It is because working families cannot afford to buy an electric car or get an entirely new type of heating installed in their houses. The Government is not giving support to those people. There is no point in quoting the fuel allowance when anyone on the minimum wage does not qualify for it. There is no point in quoting the living alone allowance for the few people who might benefit from that. The €5 for children is nowhere near enough.

These budget proposals will hurt working families while not achieving the changes we need. That shows a lack of imagination. Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael continually fail to hear the concerns of working people, who are hard-pressed as it is at the moment. The Government expects them to pay rather than those who have the money. This morning and this afternoon we have consistently heard a refusal to engage on reports that night examine how we could gain more tax from those who have more money. Most bizarrely of all, Fianna Fáil Senators have talked about how wonderful British Tory policies on housing are. My God, we can see the direction of travel of that party.