Rises in carbon tax a ‘solution’ to energy price crisis says Green leader Eamon Ryan
RISES in carbon taxes are “actually a solution to the energy prices that are out there at the moment”, Green Party leader Eamon Ryan has claimed.
“We do have to raise tax,” he told the Dáil in his contribution on the Budget debate. “We can't do everything from borrowing.
“I believe the carbon tax has been the right thing to do,” he said, “not just on the climate side, where it's critical, among a whole range of different tools, but also because it's progressive.”
The carbon tax rise is “actually a solution to the energy prices that are out there at the moment, because international fossil fuel prices are going up”, he said, surprising some TDs.
“The only real long-term protection is to reduce our dependence on those fuels, to actually improve the efficiency of the homes, to get health benefits and other benefits with it, and that's what our carbon tax does.”
The lowest income earners benefit most from offsets to carbon tax, he said, and it was not a revenue raising measure.
The tax would raise €9.5bn in the next nine years, he said €3bn of which would go to social protection to help those in fuel poverty.
A further €5bn would go retrofitting homes, targeted at those on lower incomes, and another €1.5bn would go to small farmers, with much of both of these elements also routed through Social Protection.
“So our carbon tax revenue is going straight back to the people – it’s not going into the wider budget. It doesn't help the overall economics, but it helps social progressivity,” he insisted.
“Where is the alternative?” he asked. “Where does that €9.5bn come from to give to our poorest people, and also to allow us meet our targets?
“Where is the money going to come for retrofitting, that €5 bn, if it doesn't come from a tax that is progressive?”
On the new half-price young people’s public transport, Mr Ryan said there was “a problem at the moment” bringing it in.
This was because of a worldwide shortage of silicon chips to enable production of the smart Leap cards for those age 19 to 23, he admitted.
“You can't even get the chips at the moment, such is the supply chain chaos that the world is in — but we will introduce it and look to go further,” Mr Ryan said.
He also admitted the half-price travel idea was not his party’s but that of Comhairle na nÓg, a youth body.
“This national representative council for young people came to us and said and the best thing you could do is a 50pc reduction in the travel card for those under 24,” Mr Ryan said.
“There was a gap there that they noticed. If you are under 18 you can get a travel card with a 50pc reduction.
“You get a 25pc reduction if you are a student, but nothing if you are a young worker. They (Comhairle na nÓg) came to us with a proposal, and we said yes.”
The 50pc reduction in fares for those aged from 19 to 23 was a practical measure, but it “will take us time to introduce it”, he said. “You can’t even get the chips at the moment.”
The new card is slated for introduction in the middle of next year.
Meanwhile spending on roads is “going to start to reduce”, Mr Ryan added. It was “€1.4 bn or so in total, huge amounts of money,” he said.
“That’s going to start to reduce, because the number of public transport projects is starting to rise dramatically.
“It will happen as we say yes to Metro, and as we say yes to DART-plus and yes to Bus Connects, in Cork, Galway, Waterford and Limerick as well as Dublin.”
There was a huge capital spend requirement on the public transport side, he said.
“We will spend €35bn on public transport (over the life of the revised National Development Plan), but we need to spend it well.
“That will see the roads budget decline, and the public transport budget and active travel budget increase, so we achieve our two-to-one ratio.
“We're starting already with 165 electric buses next year, 81 new rural buses around the country and 41 new railway carriages that will fit into existing services, so we can increase capacity straight away, we don't have to wait.”