Polluter-pays taxes and more investment in public transport should be provided for in next week's Budget, according to heritage charity An Taisce.
In their pre-Budget submission published today, An Taisce called for the introduction of a series 'green taxes', including an increase in petrol prices of "several cents per litre"; a tax on pesticide and fertiliser use; and "a major attempt to reduce agricultural emissions, especially from cattle".
They say a shift away from investment in road infrastructure in favour of rail should be a priority and want plans to be prepared for light rail schemes in Cork, Limerick, Galway and Waterford. They also call for a railway corridor from Cork to Limerick/Shannon to Sligo and the upgrading of the Dublin to Waterford line.
The submission also notes that Ireland provides the lowest public transport subsidy of any country in Europe.
It criticises the Government for failing to act on reports from the Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI) and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) both of which say there is scope for environmental taxes.
"There is no evidence so far that Ireland's Department of Finance has understood that a move towards environmental taxation is intrinsically progressive since it taxes a bad (pollution etc) rather than a good (labour, capital etc), it can be fiscally neutral, and it does not result in unemployment or a reduction in competitiveness," the submission says.
It also says the Government should follow through on the commitment it made in 2000 as part of its Climate Change Strategy, in which it promised "appropriate tax measures" from 2002 aimed at reducing carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gas emissions.