Fine Gael expects PAYE workers to pay for missed climate targets
Fine Gael expects PAYE workers to pay for missed climate targets - The Labour Party
Labour’s climate spokesperson Ciarán Ahern TD has called out Fine Gael’s failure to reduce people’s bills through targeted climate action.
Speaking during Leaders’ Questions in the Dáil today, Deputy Ahern hit out at Government’s abandonment of Ireland’s climate legislation for all large infrastructure projects.
Deputy Ahern said:
“PAYE workers need serious intervention from Government to reduce their bills with targeted energy credits, as well as meaningful help to adopt solar and retrofitting projects at scale.
“Rather than strategic investment in energy security that would drive down people’s bills and meaningfully address the cost of living crisis that is visiting so many people’s homes, Fine Gael has instead opted to provide massive tax breaks for big developers and burger barons in the most recent budget.
“Just last week, we saw more sectoral handouts while ordinary PAYE workers continue to call out for real help to protect their incomes.
“Other countries are so far ahead of us in terms of investment in renewables. On Tuesday, 65% of Spain’s power came from renewable sources – and this is reflected in the price of producing energy – €44.35 per MWh by comparison with €169.15 per MWh in Ireland.
“If this Government was serious about driving down people’s energy bills, they would be taking much stronger action to support our energy security.
“Most people simply can’t afford to so much as consider SEAI grants – which is why the Labour Party has long called for a retrofitting revolution with street by street retrofitting projects to bring down the cost of people’s bills. Instead, Fine Gael has left Irish people pay some of the highest energy prices in Europe.
“Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil are allowing our emissions budgets to be ridden roughshod over – with the Climate Change and Fiscal Advisory Councils warning of fines ranging from €8 to €26 billion by 2030.
“Not content with PAYE workers having to pay for that alone, they are now turning to removing the Climate Act legislation for all large infrastructure projects. There are any number of reasons why it takes time to deliver large projects here, but dumping on environmentalists and environmental law is just dishonest.
“None the delays to the new national children’s hospital were due to climate objections.
“This is all about this Government wanting to have someone to blame for its own failure. When will it step up for people, to tackle the enormous cost of living crisis and to path a better way forward to provide real energy security to people in Ireland by urgently rolling out renewables?”