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TAOISEACH LEO Varadkar has said he is probably not the best example for people in terms of how to lower your carbon footprint given the amount he travels.
When asked by reporters what he has done to reduce his own carbon footprint, the Taoiseach said he is trying to eat less meat.
“I am trying to eat less meat, both for health reasons and for reasons of climate change. But I imagine given the amount of travel I do I am probably not the best example,” he said.
However, he said the government and its ministers should “lead by example” adding that the goverment owns a lot of vehicles and rolling out more hybrid and electric cars in the fleet should be looked at in the future.
Carbon tax on the way
His comments come after day-long discussions on issues such as climate change and the roll out of a carbon tax, which has been the focus of the Fine Gael’s first parliamentary meeting of the new year.
Varadkar told his party members that he does not want to “penalise” people, but said it is inevitable that a carbon tax will be introduced.
He said this means a tax on coal, home heating oil, diesel, petrol and gas.
“Essentials for the vast majority of people and ones over which most people do not have much control,” Varadkar said.
“We do not want to penalise people but encourage them to change their behaviour in the long-term. We want people to know what the tax will be in 2030 and how it will increase each year between now and then,” he said.
Before Christmas, Varadkar said a rebate system would be introduced to offset any carbon tax hikes. It was mooted that this could come in the form of a cheque to all households.
“I do not yet have a settled view on how we should return the money to people. There are different options: we could increase child benefit, or people’s individual tax credits and social welfare payments, including for example the pension.
“Another way, similar to what is being examined in Canada, is to give each household a cheque. Therefore, as the carbon charge increases each year, so does the cheque each household is receiving,” he said, adding that deciding on the best approach requires careful thought and consideration in the months ahead.
(Click here if the video doesn’t play)
How much?
The first thing the government wants to do is set a trajectory of what the carbon charge will be in 2030 and by how much it will increase each year to get to that.
“The second piece is to do this in a revenue-neutral way – whatever is taken in on a carbon tax will be given back out to citizens. So people will be encouraged to move away from carbon intensive activity and towards more environmentally friendly ones without suffering an overall loss to their income,” said Varadkar.
Environment Minister Richard Bruton, who is tasked with getting Ireland up to speed on its climate change obligations, said today:
The important thing is that money will be recycled back, so people will be either getting a cheque in the post or getting rebate through the social welfare and tax system that compensates them.
This isn’t a money grab to take money out of your pocket. This is to help people to make decisions for the long-term.
Not about generating cash
With local elections in the offing, and with the possibility of a general election, Bruton and the Taoiseach were keen to offset the idea that a tax was about generating money.
“The bottom line on both of the solutions is that the purpose of the carbon tax is not to raise revenue. It is to nudge people to change their behaviour,” said Bruton.
“But the really important thing is that that money would be recycled back so people will be either getting a cheque in the post or getting a rebate through the social welfare and tax systems that compensates them so it will encourage people to change the way they behave,” said Bruton, adding:
This isn’t a money grab to take money out of your pocket.
This is trying to help people to make decisions that are for the long-term.
Both the Taoiseach and Bruton said the government is going to need cross-party buy-in to make the introduction of a carbon tax a success. If they don’t get it, it will fail, said Bruton.
Learning from the water charges debacle
The Taoiseach said lessons must be learned from the water charges debacle.
The experience of water charges in this country, and more recently in France, reminds us that you can take the right environmental actions for the right reasons but if you do not bring the public with you from day-one, you will lose. And so will the environment.
Varadkar also defended his decision to not introduce a carbon tax in last October’s Budget. He said there was a strong backlash from some quarters for not doing this, but said “it was the right decision”.
If we had increased it in the budget, it would not have been about changing behaviour but rather raising tax revenue. The wrong approach especially with VAT going up on some services at the same time.
We want people to understand what is being done and why it’s in their interest.
The Taoiseach also told his parliamentary party today that he wants Ireland to be “among a cluster of nations at the top in terms of reducing our carbon emissions and being on a trajectory towards carbon neutrality by 2050″.
He said he also wants Ireland to be seen internationally as the country that is leading the war on reducing plastics waste.
Varadkar said may of these changes will “involve hard choices being made”.
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Nobody’s personal purchasing habits are going to save the world. Heavy industries, agribusinesses and airlines need to be forced to move to green solutions if we want a livable climate.
@Wastrel: in a country whose principal export is meat, it probably wasn’t the best thing to say. We are spending millions on Bord Bia trying to sell meat
@techman: Our meat is produced much more sustainably than other countries
@Wastrel: err yes they can,
Enough people change what they want and the industry changes.
If people don’t change the industry doesn’t change.
Only other option is the government forces industry to change which in turns changes peoples habits.
Getting sick of these soft PR pieces for Leo. How about some critical journalism of the carbon tax?
@Alternative for Ireland: Furthermore, China are currently in the process of building hundreds more Coal burning Power Stations. If the most populous and most polluting nation on Earth aren’t doing anything then why is Paddy being made to pay thousands extra?
@Alternative for Ireland: —–Because our “Friends of the Earth” spokesman, Gusheen O’ Wallachain, wants us to be “A shining light for the World to follow”
@Alternative for Ireland: because we are a nation of bootlickers and cowards
@Alternative for Ireland: Rubbish. More propaganda and everyone believes it. They are in the process of closing down and cancelling 107 coal burning plants as Renewable energy is cheaper than coal in China. https://www.nytimes.com/2017/01/18/world/asia/china-coal-power-plants-pollution.html
@GO GREEN: I can list multiple sources from the BBC to the Guardian to Newsweek and from 3 months ago not 2017 as in your link.
@Alternative for Ireland: China is closing down coal fuelled power stations. It is also gradually bringing in a ban on the biggest polluter of all, ships powered by filthy marine fuel.
When can we expect to see him and his cronies mate driving around in electric cars instead of Mercs and audi’s
@Genius 80s+: They are just waiting for the new fleet to arrive.
With that headline the joke just writes itself.lol
Cut out all the St Patrick`s Day Junkets to the 4 corners of the world for all and sundry in the government , that will make a slight dent in the carbon footprint
Funny how he is still full of hot air…
Leo loves meat..
Leo sockboy it says on the bag of coal carbon tax paid just another money making machine for your cronies
Ah,he’s eating less meat, bless him.so thoughtful.
Love the rebate system..
100 for water tax worked a treat…
He’ll be getting complaints from meat producers for his comment about eating less meat. FG are trying to reinvent themselves as an urban liberal party. But in reality they’re the same bigotted dopes they always were.
What about the national herd 6 million cows who produce 30% of our 60 million tons of greenhouse gases….Will they have to be culled by a million….
@iComment:
Fine Gael is the farmers party. They simply haven’t got the balls to tackle the farty cows issue.
@iComment: how much methane is produced in Leinster House! A few years back I worked with a company who were looking for 14001 accreditation, they totally went over the top to get it and worked out the entire carbon footprint of everything they did, right down to people’s commute, taking in trains, cycling, cars etc. Would be really interesting to see what the governments footprint is, surely they can organise a cross party group to take several years to appoint a consultant to do this in a reasonable 20 year time frame!
@iComment: We soon be getting meat from Argentina and that should be fun???
Wants to increase beef production but tries to eat less meat. Good man.
Perhaps he will eat less meat, but he still talks some $hite
We pay enough tax LEO boots on the streets the only way to stop u leo
@John Hartigan: Actually if he is bringing this tax in he should just take it out of the property tax because we get f-all for that anyway.
Cross-party buy-in for carbon taxes? Do these clowns realise that Ireland’s middle class can’t pay for everything? Does he want to be returned as Taoiseach at the next election? The people who are working every hour God sends to earn an honest living, pay their mortgages, put kids through school and college, put up with sh!+€ public transport, and who are paying tax on everything including their hard earned savings are now expected to follow Charlie Haughey’s saintly advice to tighten our belts yet again. I don’t know how anyone can afford to live and work in Ireland
That man sickens me more and more each day.
Typical very obvious leo tactics. Wants cross party buy in because he doesn’t want FG getting the blame for introducing another tax. Its nothing about whats good for the country, its all about himself and the party for this obnoxious tool.
Start with fast food companies who contribute mostly to the amount of cows, chickens etc that have to be slaughterd every year
Is this headline a joke?
WE ALREADY PAY A FKIN CARBON TAX ON THOSE.
Government car,Government jet,talking shite…..
Yep,less meat will do It alright.
It looks like Journal posted this just to get more craic from the comments … or encourage a takeover bid from Waterford Whispers.
Eating meat once a week. If everyone did that it would make more difference than driving around in electric cars. I’m not sure I buy the argument that cows produced in Ireland is so much more sustainable than elsewhere. They fart where ever they get raised.
1)How will a carbon tax on ordinary people to influence behaviour be a major priority when agriculture (especially)& industry the major factors behind climate change?What measures are been taken to tackle that&will they have to pay carbon taxes/extra carbon taxes?
2)If Irish Government wants “to change (people’s) behaviour why not send every household comprehensive information leaflets/booklets re climate change &how households can play their part re same?( instead of election leaflets!).
3)Why not give grants to households to convert their heating away from solid fuel?
4)Re electric/hybrid cars:could it be possible to reduce eg motor taxes/VAT/VRT on those cars to encourage uptake of purchases& delay the introduction(not sure if there already) of pricing electricity recharging points?
@Nuala Mc Namara: upgrading home will not solve anything… 51% of emissions come from livestock alone… The government won’t dare tax meat even though i believe its a must to solve the crisis as it will cause an uproar and will get rid of them…. People dont get that all that glitters isnt gold… People only looking at the so called benefits of eating meat and that is taste and protein…. Even though there are plenty of other foods that have more protein than meat… They overlook the welfare of the animals, the contribution to climate change, the antibiotics and chemicals used on animals that wnds up on peoples plates, the fact that World Health Organisation has declared bacon a carcinogen as well as red meats and proceeds meats….
The Taoiseach will eat less meat, but his government permits one of the vilest animal cruelty practices on the planet and has resisted attempts to ban it. I refer to live hare coursing, a “sport” that FG cherishes and deems an appropriate form of outdoor recreation in 21st century Ireland. The party closed ranks against Maureen O’ Sullivan TD when she moved a Bill to end this obscenity.
Right now, hundreds of hares are being held captive on a racecourse outside Clonmel, County Tipperary. They were transported there from all over Ireland, having been snatched by trappers from their natural habitats. The trappers used nets to capture these animals for the annual three-day “festival” of live hare coursing due to be staged next month at Powerstown Park.
I wonder if any one of those innocent captives has an inkling of what lies in store for him or her?
Each hare will be coursed…possibly up to three times, meaning that if it doesn’t get injured or horribly mauled first time around disaster may strike during the second or third course: A twisted Russian roulette caper to which coursing clubs subject these timid, defenseless animals.
Even if a hare manages to avoid injury after three courses the animal may die in the wild afterwards of stress-related ailments. And all of this is staged for the amusement of human beings who derive pleasure from watching trapped hares running for their lives.
Though animal protection groups will be protesting outside the racecourse on February 3rd (and I hope the demo is well supported) it’s hard to accept that our laws permit such a medieval practice in the 21st century. So those captive sentient beings cannot benefit from any intervention to save them. We who oppose this “sport” can only hold placards… or lobby politicians who either support hare coursing or deem it politically irrelevant.
A Taoisach who proposes to eat less meat might consider the deliberate cruelty to animals dressed up as “sport” that his party permits and encourages: Here’s a sample of the fun pastime that our supposedly humane, liberal leader refuses to outlaw:
Omg who cares what that idiot does
Careful Leo, you might just make Meehalls day by having all the beef barons & livestock ranchers up their financial & propaganda support for FF. Could be a career change, not just dietary.
Expecting a little more reasoned commentary in the comments and getting the usual whinging from a bunch of grumpy men probably. Cheer up sisters, the piles will soften in a couple of weeks.
We already pay scam tax on car fuel, 22c per litre, asnwell as €4 on a bag of coal, brought in by thw utterly idiotic green party, without offering any alternative. Carbon tax it a scam. Plain and somple. We are paying enough scam taxes in various shapes and forms, so jog on there like a good lad. No more!
@Ronan Sexton: Excuse the typos. Happens with rage typing.
Varadkar is “trying” to eat less meat????
No giggling in the cheap seats please!!
Although talk about an open goal!!!!
Alcohol is bad for you, as is smoking and soft drinks too. Hush in saying meat isn’t good for you as Mr GOODman calls the shots on BE SILENT as far as meat is concerned. The cow could have had TB before slaughter but who needs to know that.
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