The opening lines of William Shakespeare’s play Richard III talk of a winter of discontent.
The same line gained cultural significance when it became an apt comparison for the winter of 1978, when the British government dealt with stagflation, oil shocks and strikes.
With Ireland heading for a winter of discontent of its own, it would appear the opposition has an open goal.
Instead, there are divisions over the carbon tax.
This week in the Dáil, a proposal was put forward in the Dáil by Independent Ireland which called for the removal of all excise duty on fuel, and the scrapping of the carbon tax.
On one side of the argument (Sinn Féin, People Before Profit and rural independents), there are arguments that the carbon tax is a regressive tax that does not take into account the ability to pay and is a tax on the poor.
On the other side of the argument (Labour, Social Democrats and some independents), there is a school of thought that a carbon tax is one of a few tools the state has in its toolbox to pay for climate change mitigation.
Last week in the Dáil, Sinn Féin finance spokesperson Pearse Doherty said this was the eighth time a measure like this has been discussed in the Dáil.
“This is the eighth attempt to try to get the government to see sense; they need to wake up.”
“It needs to understand the needs of the Irish people out there. This is not a radical proposal; it is common sense. It is not extreme. It is the bare minimum that people should be able to expect from a government at a time like this,” the Donegal TD said.
Dún Laoghaire TD and People Before Profit leader Richard Boyd Barrett called the carbon tax a “regressive tax.”
Boyd Barrett cited a new report from the ESRI which “categorically stated” a statement to that effect.
“There is no getting away from that. The people who hurt most as a result of carbon tax are those least responsible for the cost-of-living crisis and least able to bear the increases that are happening.”
He said that the government should “tax the profiteers.”
“DCC Energy made €740 million in profits last year. It is a major supplier of kerosene in this country. It can afford to take a bit of a hit. Let us make it and the other energy companies, the electricity companies, the oil companies and the data centres pay a little more tax. We should make them pay some tax, and we could give a break and put price controls on energy and home heating oil.”
Independent TD Paul Gogarty (first elected to the Dáil as a Green in 2002, for readers with a long memory), explained his opposition to scrapping the carbon tax (but ultimately supported the “thrust” of the bill).
The Dublin Mid-West TD said, “carbon tax is an easy target for some sectors, and it is the devil incarnate for some political groupings.”
“Carbon tax, if done properly, represents an attempt to encourage those who can afford to do so to spend their money on cleaner, greener ways of living, thereby reducing the country’s carbon emissions, which would have a knock-on effect for everyone.”
Gogarty explained, “a just transition means that when you bring in money from carbon tax, you help the poorest in society. That has not always happened. For example, there are people in local authority houses who are waiting for them to be insulated. The roll-out of insulation works for such housing is absolutely abysmal. Some people are benefiting more from the way the carbon tax has been rolled out.”
The independent TD said, “we have to have measures in terms of our EU and global climate obligations and in the context of the way climate change is manifesting, but we also have to look at the wars in Ukraine and Iran.”
He said the economic shock hitting global economies “have a lot to do with Trump, whether it is directly in terms of putting pressure on the Russians or specifically in relation to assisting Israel in targeting Iran but not getting anything out of it.”
“I have said before that I have no grá for the regime in Iran, but Trump’s policies have caused mayhem everywhere and are hitting Irish people left, right and centre.”
With that caveat, Gogarty supported both the Sinn Féin motion on carbon tax, and the one set down by Independent Ireland.
“Given the way Trump is going on and in view of the uncertainty globally, over the next six months we have to help people who are suffering. Reducing their cost of home heating oil is one way of doing so. That is why I support the thrust of this bill.”
Labour and the Social Democrats voted against the Independent Ireland motion.
Dublin South-West TD Ciáran Ahern explained Labour’s stance on carbon tax.
“Labour’s position has always been that carbon tax should form part of a just transition rather than being considered in isolation from household incomes and energy affordability,” he explained.
“To be fair, we have supported increases in carbon tax while arguing for a refundable carbon-tax credit for low- and middle-income households. That distinction is important. Carbon tax is intended to reflect, through the price of fossil fuels, some of the environmental cost associated with their use.”
Ahern stated, “carbon tax detractors often claim that it is a regressive form of taxation, but I do not believe that.”
“In last year’s budget, over €1 billion raised through the carbon tax was allocated to alleviating fuel poverty and reducing our dependency on fossil fuels, thus protecting those who need it most from inflationary shocks,” he said.
“The evidence has shown for years that carbon tax is a progressive measure and that our most vulnerable households are better off as a result of it.
“Of course, the precise treatment of revenues from it should be transparent and must be scrutinised, but the underlying principle is straightforward: if the state asks people to change how they heat their homes, how they travel and how they consume energy, the state must invest in making those changes possible,” Ahern said.
He noted that particular sentiment is “somewhat reflected” in Independent Ireland’s motion (which Labour and the Soc Dems voted against, but Sinn Féin and PBP did) but the proposal seems to lean more towards the state just ceasing to ask people to make those changes.
“I would lean the other direction; we must continue to encourage people to transition towards cleaner energy, but crucially we have to support them in doing so and protect those who are not yet capable of doing so.”
The Labour climate spokesperson stated, “we have just emerged from a summer of extreme weather events both at home and abroad. We need immediate, targeted protection for households under pressure but we also need sustained investment that reduces the underlying need for that protection; scrapping the carbon tax would be catastrophic in both respects.”