Claire Kerrane (Roscommon-Galway, Sinn Fein)
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80. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the status of the report on the impact assessment of the current and projected future increases in carbon tax on low income families by her Department; the stage the report is at; when it will be published; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [39993/20]

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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The report on the impact assessment of the current and projected future increases in carbon tax on low-income families by my Department was required by Section 25 of Social Welfare no. 2 Act 2019 (Number 48 of 2019).

The development and operation of emergency social welfare measures and the diversion of staffing resources required to deal with the advent of the COVID-19 pandemic have, of necessity, impacted on the timely delivery of this Report.

The report was laid before the Houses of the Oireachtas on 10 November 2020.

The report is based on data and prevailing Government policies up to 31 May 2020. It considers matters from an income support perspective only, in keeping with the Department’s remit and responsibilities.

There are five sections. Section 1 provides an introduction and outline of the legislative background to the report. Section 2 details the current situation with carbon tax and sets out one possible schedule for future changes in carbon tax from 2020 to 2030, to meet Government commitments in this area.

Section 3 deals with the impact of social transfers and sets out specific welfare supports provided in this area. Section 4 focuses on the impact of the proposed changes in carbon tax on low income families, estimated using the Economic and Social Research Institute’s (ESRI) SWITCH micro-simulation model and other reports carried out by the ESRI and work done by the Department of Finance.

Finally, Section 5 sets out conclusions in relation to the report.

The published report is available at .

I trust that this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.