Carbon tax increase approved by 97 votes to 36 in Dáil

The Government has accepted the €6 increase in the carbon tax by 97 votes to 36 with two abstentions.

Minister for Health Simon Harris who led the late night debate on the resolution said it was a "moment of truth" for the House. It was very easy to back "fluffy" measures that people are in favour of taking action on climate change.

It was quite different to “actually face up to the truth”, to take action which involves a carbon charge.

The Minster faced a barrage of heckling when he told the Opposition that the Extinction Rebellion protest “must be the first protest ever taking place that you don’t feel you can join because you’re out of touch with the people outside these gates”.

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There were young people who probably think the Government should do more, he said.

But he hit out at rural TDs and claimed they were trying to divide the country between rural and urban Ireland “as though climate change doesn’t affect rural Ireland”.

The Dáil also accepted an increase of 50 per cent on a 20-pack of cigarettes. Mr Harris rejected an assertion by Independent TD Michael Healy-Rae that smoking was a personal matter for people to decide for themselves.

He said it was long established that there is a very significant impact of smoking on on public health policy which had a major effect on the health service and society.

Earlier, Green party leader Eamon Ryan said the Government had no "system change" planned to deal with the climate challenge but is "just tinkering at the edge".

“We don’t have a single public transport project in planning let alone construction stage,” but there are 51 national road projects in planning or underway for which the Government is providing €3 billion.

Mr Ryan hit out at the failure to act on the Government’s pledged “great measures” for cycling. That was €9 million in a €2.7 billion transport budget. The allocation might provide one urban cycleway, the Dublin Bay South TD said.

He also criticised the lack of proper transport analysis “even in the real detail of the department allocation”.

The Dublin Bay South TD asked what the plan was for rural public transport. That should be given priority because of the climate challenge and the gap in public transport but there is “no detail and no real commitment”.

He said the €5 million for re-wilding of certain bog systems should be 100 times that amount. “We need to change our entire forestry and farming system to store carbon and protect biodiversity.”

Mr Ryan added “there is no system change but it is just tinkering at the edge”.

The Social Democrats have claimed that anyone dependent on a social welfare payment will effectively face a cut in their income next year because the Government has failed to inflation-proof welfare rates.

Joint party leader Róisín Shortall said inflation is expected to rise next year by 1.3 per cent or 1.4 per and a couple who are on contributory old age pension “will effectively suffer a loss of over €6 a week next year as a result of your failure to inflation-proof welfare charges”.

The Government had prepared the ground for very little change to welfare rates but “everyone expected that welfare rates would keep pace with the cost of living”.

She criticised the Government for using Brexit “as some kind of cover to ignore domestic issues, particularly housing and the huge problems in the health service” and the cost of living.

Ms Shortall said that if the Government set out to reduce the cost of living would address an awful lot of other problems. “The failure to control the cost of housing is a major factor in driving up the cost of living.”

She added that the Budget was a continuation of that kind of approach and the consequences is that “very large number so people will be left behind”.