Tipperary TD Mattie McGrath is challenging the government’s management of funds raised via the Carbon Tax.
The TD is sharply critical of the government’s handling of carbon tax funds, questioning the allocation of the €2.9 billion collected from 2020 to 2023. Citing a report from the Controller and Auditor General the TD says that €530M of a total of €1.36 billion allocated from the increases in the carbon tax between 2020 and 2023, remains unaccounted for in the target areas.
Deputy McGrath accuses the government of not only failing to deliver on its promises to improve home efficiency and spend carbon tax funds in a manner that enhances renewable energy and the environment but is also misleading the public about the true use of these funds.
Deputy McGrath is highlighting that under the Finance Act passed in 2020 the carbon tax is to increase each year until it reaches a rate of €100 per tonne by 2030, which he adds will continue to drive up the cost of living for everyone. “ At present the tax is levied at €63.50 per tonne.
Carbon tax receipts, have nearly doubled from €494 million in 2020 to €935 million in 2023 and the TD claims the government has neither a strategy nor a plan to effectively use these funds in a meaningful way that supports key sectors such as farmers or homeowners.
