Pat Breen (Clare, Fine Gael)
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Question 137: To ask the Minister for Finance further to Parliamentary Question No. 239 of 7 October 2009, if he will abolish the €10 air travel tax in view of the recent volcanic ash crisis and the losses incurred by Irish airlines as a result of same; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [18085/10]

Brian Lenihan Jnr (Dublin West, Fianna Fail)
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I have no plans to abolish the air travel tax. The air travel tax was one of a number of Budgetary measures introduced recently that was necessary in the context of an overall response to the fiscal challenges we face. I have stated before that the impact of the tax on passenger numbers is being overstated.

Andrew Doyle (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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Question 138: To ask the Minister for Finance the measures he plans to implement to offset the cost of the carbon tax on public transport vehicles; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [18086/10]

Brian Lenihan Jnr (Dublin West, Fianna Fail)
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I have no plans to offset the cost of the carbon tax on public transport vehicles.

The carbon tax does not differentiate between private and public transport per se, however, the impact on public transport will be far less than on private transport by virtue of the fact that the higher cost of fuel is dispersed amongst more people, for example, using a bus compared to an individual in a car. Consequently, the carbon tax will be proportionately less for users of public transport which should be an incentive for its use. In addition, the carbon tax provides an incentive for both private motorists and providers of public transport to invest in fuel efficient cars and buses when they are making future purchasing decisions.

Andrew Doyle (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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Question 139: To ask the Minister for Finance the reason for increasing the carbon tax on farm diesel to a level that is nearly double the rate of diesel for road users; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [18091/10]

Brian Lenihan Jnr (Dublin West, Fianna Fail)
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I announced in Budget 2010 that a carbon tax at a rate of €15 per tonne was being introduced on fossil fuels. The tax was applied to petrol and auto-diesel with effect from midnight, 9 December 2009; and was applied from 1 May 2010 to kerosene, marked gas oil (also known as 'green diesel' or 'agricultural diesel'), liquid petroleum gas (LPG), fuel oil and natural gas. The application of the tax to coal and commercial peat is subject to a Commencement Order. The Budget announcements on the carbon tax have now been enacted into legislation through the Finance Act 2010.

The new carbon charge is based on the emissions that arise from the fuel used. Consequently the carbon tax charge in respect of marked gas oil and auto-diesel (which are almost identical fuels) is around the same i.e. 4.1 cents and 3.9 cents per litre respectively (excluding VAT). The carbon tax charge is marginally higher for marked gas oil because it is a slightly denser fuel with slightly higher emissions than auto-diesel.

While the percentage increase in the price of marked gas oil arising from the introduction of the carbon tax is higher than in the case of auto-diesel, this is a function primarily of the fact that marked gas oil has a lower base price due to the considerably lower level of excise duty on that product compared to auto-diesel.