The Labour party has attacked the Government's record on its greenhouse gas reduction commitments, accusing it of "a complete lack of planning". Liam Reid reports.
Labour's finance spokeswoman, Ms Joan Burton, claimed that the "Government's indecision" on carbon taxes and other measures would result in job losses and may have a disproportionate effect on poorer families.
Under the Kyoto Agreement, Ireland is committed to keeping its greenhouse gas emissions to 13 per cent below 1990 levels when it comes into effect between 2008 and 2012. Current levels are running at about 30 per cent above 1990 levels.
Ms Bruton said that it was now only 10 months away from the Government's promised date for the introduction of carbon taxes, which is part of its programme to tackle emission levels.
"As yet we have no published policy paper outlining how the tax will be levied, how emissions will be monitored or audited, who will be charged with the collection of the tax and how it will be collected."
Speaking at a seminar on environmental taxes organised by the Labour party, Ms Bruton claimed that adequate planning was needed to ensure that any new carbon taxes did not impact unfairly on the poor.
She highlighted the fact that, according to the latest figures from Sustainable Energy Ireland, nearly one in five Irish households were described as having some level of fuel poverty, in that they had insufficient income for heating and other fuel needs.
"Unless the Government takes hard decisions quite soon, it is likely that the major losers from the introduction of a specific carbon tax will be older people, people in rural areas and people on lower incomes," she said.