Carbon tax 'will not be ringfenced'

A PLANNED carbon tax set out in the programme for government will not be introduced as intended, Green Party candidate for Dublin Senator Deirdre de Búrca has said.

Rather than being ringfenced for such problems as fuel poverty, it would simply supplement the exchequer, Ms de Búrca told a public debate of Dublin European candidates last night.

The EU’s role in the forthcoming UN Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen was the main issue discussed at the environmental debate.

Sinn Féin MEP Mary Lou McDonald said the economic challenges should not be used as an excuse to row back on environmental commitments.

Fine Gael MEP Gay Mitchell said the EU should have one voice to lead on the issue and the only way to do this was by passing the Lisbon Treaty.

Labour MEP Proinsias de Rossa said the EU should get a binding global deal that did not impoverish the already poor in the EU and rest of the world.

Former Green MEP and Independent candidate Patricia McKenna said the target for a reduction in carbon emissions was far too soft.

As economies contracted, their emissions would naturally fall by 30 per cent so targets needed to be revised, she said.

When asked about an EU-wide carbon tax, Libertas candidate Caroline Simons said it was a good idea as the polluter would pay. Mr De Rossa later quipped that he was pleased to see that she supported the idea of EU involvement in tax. But she responded that such a scheme would depend on agreement by individual states.