Carbon tax needs to be assessed — Ring

The introduction of a carbon tax in the December Budget will have a dramatically negative impact on rural Ireland, the Fine Gael spokesperson on community, rural, and Gaeltacht affairs, Deputy Michael Ring, has claimed.

The Westport deputy believes the tax will almost certainly be introduced in the forthcoming Budget. But rural folk, he said, “will bear the brunt of the levy as they must depend on the use of a car to get around”.

“This is another tax that will be keenly felt in rural Ireland where research shows there is significant deprivation with two thirds of the economically poor living in the country and almost a quarter of farm families living with an income below the minimum wage,” Dep Ring said.

“Rural householders spend almost 50 per cent more per week on petrol than urban householders, and a tax which punishes those who live a distance from a public transport network would not be fair or acceptable.

“I would urge the Minister for Finance to carefully examine the consequences of the imposition of a carbon tax and its affect on rural communities,” concluded Dep Ring.

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