As the Minister for Finance ponders on the future introduction of carbon tax, the Society of the Irish Motor Industry (SIMI) has released data it believes motorists should be aware of in relation to carbon emissions when debating the topic.
According to the SIMI, motorists who pay the exchequer nearly €4 billion annually, already contribute over €1 billion in carbon tax on fuel.
In the view of the SIMI, transport's contribution to the CO2 emissions is only 12.5 per cent of total man-made CO2 and this is 33 per cent less from cars per head of population in Ireland than in Britain, Germany or France.
The SIMI claims that research undertaken by Oscar Faber Consultants, on behalf of the Department of the Environment, has shown that Irish motorists pay 60 per cent more in taxes than their environmental, social and accident costs.