Aontú leader Peadar Tóibín TD has today called for an immediate emergency suspension of the Carbon Tax, citing the “drastic and sudden” threat to Irish energy security following a sharp escalation of conflict in the Middle East over the last 24 hours.
Benchmark oil prices jumped by over 10% this morning following joint U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iranian targets. With the Strait of Hormuz a chokepoint for 20% of global supply now effectively closed to tanker traffic, Irish consumers are facing an immediate price shock at the pump and in their homes.
The Deputy stated “The events of the last 24 hours in the Middle East are shocking. The loss of life and the potential for future killings in the region has stunned the world. It will also have an enormous effect on the global economy and the global energy market. That impact will be felt most acutely at Irish petrol stations and in our utility bills. Brent Crude has surged toward $80 a barrel, and we are already seeing local diesel prices jump by 10 to 15 cents per litre. This is a direct consequence of the closure of the Strait of Hormuz and the resulting suspension of shipping insurance, yet our government remains a passive observer.”
The Deputy continued “While global volatility is the trigger, the Irish Government’s tax policy is the amplifier. Currently, over 55% of what a person pays for diesel goes directly to the State in Carbon Tax, Excise, and VAT. As the base price of oil skyrockets, the State’s VAT take increases in tandem. It is unacceptable for the government to collect a windfall from a geopolitical crisis while 320,000 Irish households are already in electricity arrears.”
“The data from the Commission for Regulation of Utilities (CRU) shows a 20% increase in energy debt in just one year. We have energy providers already withdrawing fixed-rate contracts to protect their own margins, leaving the public exposed to the full force of this market spike. To proceed with a scheduled Carbon Tax hike on May 1st, in the face of a global supply shutdown and record domestic debt, is a failure of leadership.”
“The Deputy concluded “ Aontú is calling for an immediate reduction of the Carbon Tax. We must cancel the increase scheduled for May 1st and introduce an emergency ‘Carbon Tax Cap’ on the state’s tax take per litre. When the price of a litre of petrol or diesel rises above a certain level the Carbon Tax should fall. Carbon tax is supposed to be, after all, a method to inflate the price of fossil fuels to reduce their consumption. If price rises are so much anyways, that it is already reducing demand, the Carbon Tax is just punitive.
The Government cannot continue to profit from a conflict that is pushing the ‘squeezed middle’ toward a breaking point. We need a ‘circuit breaker’ on fuel taxes now to ensure that Irish workers and families are not the ones paying the highest price for global instability.”
