Pádraig Mac Lochlainn (Donegal, Sinn Fein)
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440. To ask the Minister for Finance if the objective of the carbon tax is to change consumer behaviour in favour of the environment; and the reason carbon tax is the same on smokeless coal as opposed to smoky coal that is still in use in a large geographical area of the State. [33417/20]

Paschal Donohoe (Dublin Central, Fine Gael)
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In 2009, the Commission for Taxation recommended the introduction of a tax on carbon emissions from fossil fuels released for consumption in Ireland in order to broaden the tax base and to protect and enhance the environment. Carbon Tax, as part of an overall suite of measures to incentivise decarbonisation, aims to encourage businesses and householders alike to use greener alternative fuels where possible.

With regard to the application of Solid Fuel Carbon Tax on coal and smokeless coal ; ‘coal’ is defined in section 77 of the Finance Act 2010 as any fuel in solid form manufactured from coal falling within the EU customs classification Combined Nomenclature (CN code) 2701 or from lignite falling within the CN code 2702 or any energy product within the meaning of Article 2.1 of the Energy Tax Directive (2003/96/EC) in solid form. Solid Fuel Carbon Tax legislation does not set out separate definitions and rates for ‘smokeless coal’ and ‘regular coal’.

I understand that distinctions between regular and smokeless coal are made in the regulatory regime for environmental standards of solid fuel that is overseen by the Department of Communications, Climate Action and Environment which is enforced by local authorities in areas that are designated for use of certain types of solid fuel under air pollution legislation. This is a separate legal and regulatory regime and is not linked to the rates of Solid Fuel Carbon Tax, which is based on the amount of CO2 emitted by a given solid fuel product.