Mattie McGrath: Demands Carbon Tax Cut Before Budget

We are just under two weeks away from the budget and we are in the middle of the worst and spiralling inflationary and interest rate environment which is piling huge pressures, savage pressures on every man, woman and child in this country and indeed in every business sector also. Despite these challenges we have a government that is on the ropes and completely out of ideas. It is now clear that the government lacks the required energy to patent upon to decisively help the public and do what is right. Instead, what we are witnessing is a complete detachment from the reality and chaotic messaging by your government ministers. One of the scariest kites in the political sky at the moment is the fact that your projected £6.7 billion tax and spending package for 2023, regardless, in other words, of what may happen if we have another winter next year in this continued crisis. You have completely failed to protect households and businesses from energy price rises. You have continued to drive ahead with more inflationary carbon taxes at a time when energy prices are at the highest ever. Your government has narrowed its giant focus on electricity credits, which at a short-term measure has failed to address the cost of the problem that is there now. The coupling of gas and electricity prices and the coupling of gas and electricity prices and indeed the record level of government mandated energy taxes, which are taking in billions in extra income for the part of the finance. So it is a con job really what you are doing. You have completely rejected all calls from my rural independent colleagues and I to slash the energy and the carbon tax and taxes to 5% until this crisis ends, not forever. Ask the carbon tax, as I said, which is costing every household a minimum of €600 this year. Your carbon tax, which you voted for and you are supported by your opposition as well. Instead of, and you then import oil from, you know, dodging dictators when the Russian supply is cut off. And we are in the worst energy crisis, the cost of living crisis in generations. Fianna Fáil, Fine Gael and the Greens and some independents like to just even add more fuel taxes to be more punitive and more hardship on other people. Hiking the carbon tax further in this budget at this time is completely irresponsible and will send out a clear message that you and your government ministers couldn't care less if people freeze or starve in their houses this winter. In reality, the carbon tax is an unfair punishment that barely affects the carbon emissions. And that's the fact of it. And you are on to increase it here. And you have voted actually here last year to increase it every year annually without even debate. So get real here and stand by the people who sent you here to this parliament, sent all of us here, who now need help. Not press releases and different mixed messages. And cut the carbon tax, cut all the energy taxes, something we can do tangibly here ourselves. And also cap the big profits of the electricity companies. Thank you. Thanks Deputy, I don't think it's fair to say that the government hasn't acted to help households and help families with the rising cost of living. Just as recently as January, all the budget measures kicked in, an increase in the minimum wage, lower income taxes, an increase in the pension, an increase in weekly welfare payments, an increase in the fuel allowance. In spring we intervened again, reduced excise on petrol and diesel by 20 cents and 15 cents, reduced green diesel as well, reduced VAT on electricity and gas to 9%, the lowest ever, gave households 200 euros off their electricity bill. There was a bullet payment of fuel allowance as well. In the summer intervened again, increases in the SUSE grant for students, an increase in the back to school clothing and footwear allowance for those who needed it most. Public sector pay deal agreed only in the last couple of weeks, about to be voted on, an increase in the national minimum wage announced yesterday, worth 1,600 euros a year to somebody working full time on low pay. And we'll take further action again in the budget, and it will take the form of increased welfare payments, pension payments. Minister Humphries is examining what we can do around the fuel allowance, particularly making it available to more people. There'll be a tax package, meaning that working people can keep more of the money that they earn. There will be actions as well to help with the energy bills in particular. So, what you see from government is a dynamic response, and an evolving response to what is a rapidly changing situation. And that is going to have to continue to be the case, because we don't know how high bills will go, and we don't know how long this will go on for. And the response isn't a blank check. The right response is not a blank check. It's a dynamic response responding to the situation as it develops and as it emerges. In relation to carbon tax, as you know, that's not a budget measure. It's already legislated for, and the funding from it is ring-fenced for climate action, for green farming, and for retrofitting, and for lots of other things. But the approach that we've taken to date, and you'll know it having happened in May, is that where the carbon tax does go up, it's offset by other measures. And that was done last spring with the reduction in excise on petrol and diesel, so people don't experience that increase in their pockets. Mr Graham. I think it's accepted that the government effort has made, and it's not supposed to be, but if you call this a dynamic response, you can call me Davey, or some other name out of Mayers, or some place. It's shocking. Why are you so stauntly opposed to bringing the Isle off Barry Road and to a gas exploration offer course? Will you accept the fact that the data centres are causing electricity, and they're going to continue doing so? And will you accept that the fastest way to get cheaper and to help our citizens is to cut the energy taxes? And that's a budgetary measure. And you have a tricky-to-loop job in the carbon tax saying it's not a budgetary measure. You passed it here for 10 years. Every member of about six, seven of us voted for that here in this house. So you can't con to people. You can take tangible measures instead of winter dressing and moving money here and moving money there. People are hurting. They're in an awful situation. And you see the message you made of the school transport, which are big announcements as well. It's taught out, and not taught at all. So your taught process seems to be divided. All you seem to want to do is keep Eamon Ryan in power. Keep whatever they want. You and your Taoiseach. You Taoiseach-to-be and the President Taoiseach. How high? And you ask him how high. Minister Ryan is destroying our nation. Destroying our families. Destroying our children. And you're supporting him all the way, you, Fianna Fáil, Fianna Gale, and indeed, Independence, which is Green Party. Thank you very much. Independence. Giving a bad name to the name of Independence. Supporting Government at every whim. Honest to please. Thanks. Thanks, Deputy. First of all, just to be very clear, we're not opposed to bringing more gas ashore from Corib, if there's more available. And we're not opposed to Ballyroa either. I haven't blocked any licence, nor has Minister Ryan. There's an obligation on the company, though, to honour the terms of their licence. And that involves demonstrating that they have the financial wherewithal to exploit those resources there. You mentioned cutting energy taxes. We have cut energy taxes, Deputy. We took 20 cents and 15 cents off petrol and diesel, reversing several years of carbon tax increases in reality. And we've cut VAT on electricity and on gas to 9%. It's 20% in Northern Ireland and in Britain. 20% of the VAT in Ireland on electricity and gas is 9%, the lowest it's ever been. And as the price of gas continues to rise, and as the price of electricity continues to rise, the proportion that the government gets in taxes falls. That's the reality of the situation that we're facing. Thank you. Thank you.