Members of Ireland’s new coalition government have reversed their criticism of carbon tax policies, undertaking instead to continue the regular increase in the highly-unpopular tax.
TDs (MPs) Michael Healy-Rae and Danny Healy-Rae — both members of the influential Healy-Rae family from the country’s southern province — had previously blasted the tax as unfairly targeting ordinary people during the general election last year.
Now they have joined the ruling coalition following the country’s general election last year, with the government draft programme undertaking to continue the tax.
In the programme published on January 15, the yearly carbon tax increases are set to continue, with the document repeatedly emphasising the importance of “decarbonising” Ireland’s economy.
“We are committed to using the carbon tax as a key tool to encourage a shift away from fossil fuels and invest in a sustainable future,” the programme reads.
“This approach ensures those who are most vulnerable receive targeted support, making the transition fair and equitable.”
The Healy-Raes have traditionally been some of the Irish parliament’s most vocal critics of carbon taxes, claiming that their introduction hurts many of their rural constituents in County Kerry, where the family is based.
“I’m not a climate change denier, but… I live in the real world of dealing with the problems that people have,” Michael Healy-Rae, who is due to be given a ministerial position in the new government, told Newstalk radio in 2021.
“And when I have people in front of me with tears in their eyes wondering how are they going to manage that upsets me.”
He went on to blast the government for its phase-out of domestic peat cultivation, complaining that the fossil fuel was now just being imported from abroad.
“Talk about shooting ourselves in the foot, we’ve shot every toe off our feet over the last number of months,” he added.
“It does not make sense to bring in measures that are so crazy that the alternatives are absolutely ludicrous.”
The decision to regularly hike the carbon tax was spearheaded by Ireland’s Green Party, which had been a member of the previous government.
The party lost all but one of its seats in the general election, and has been relegated to the opposition benches.
Ireland’s Green Party has suffered a crushing defeat in the country’s general election, with the government coalition partner losing 12 of its 13 seats. https://t.co/K0GlrEVHpI
— Brussels Signal (@brusselssignal) December 2, 2024
