Independent TD Mattie McGrath has accused an Taoiseach Micheál Martin of ‘dancing to the tune of the globalists” as the Fianna Fáil leader defended the government decision to continue with carbon taxes despite the cost of living crisis.
Mattie McGrath to Micheál Martin in relation to the carbon budget:
"You're dancing to the tune of the globalists" pic.twitter.com/P359NjDJIs— JRD (@JRD0000) April 5, 2022
The Tipperary TD had called for a “full and meaningful” debate on carbon taxes – saying that the Rural Independents had opposed the measures for at least two years.
“We want a full and meaningful debate, and we want it today. We are challenging the Order of Business for that reason, to ensure that people can live and that they can survive, given the increases in the costs of ESB, gas, excise duty, etc,” he said, adding, “We will go off for two weeks on Thursday but we will be back and on 1 May we will add insult to injury with another carbon tax. It is totally unacceptable and totally unpalatable to our people. It is anathema to right thinking people. We do not deny climate change, but this is not the time and this is not the way to deal with it, with a stick rather than a carrot. All the Taoiseach is missing here is the múinteoir and the bata, lecturing us all on what we can and cannot do.”
In response, an Taoiseach said that he was under “no illusions” in regard to the issue. “This will be very challenging. I anticipate more pushback from the Dáil. As I said earlier, as the UN Secretary-General said, there will be a lot of doublespeak on this. Many people will be saying that we need to do this and that but not yet, not now, not that way or to do it some other way.”
“It is the Taoiseach’s way or the highway,” interjected Deputy McGrath.
“Whose tune is the Taoiseach dancing to? He is dancing to the tune of the globalists,” he said.
The Fianna Fáíl leader responded by saying he was nowhere as good a dancer as Deputy McGrath.
Independent Deputy Denis Naughten was also critical of what he described as “insufficient” time given to discussing the carbon budget which would set policy for the next 15 years.
“Ireland is setting out a very ambitious set of targets in our carbon budgets for the next 15 years. If we are to achieve such significant reductions, we will need to bring the public along with us on that journey. People cannot be commanded. Effective change means putting the levers of climate action into people’s own hands. That will not be achieved by shoe-horning continental solutions into addressing the unique set of challenges that we face here in Ireland. We have a three-day debate every October in relation to our annual budget. Yet, the Government is only providing a 200-minute debate tomorrow on Dáil Éireann’s final approval of a carbon budget for the next 15 years, which will have long-term economic and societal impacts on every single individual. We believe that amount of time is insufficient,” he said.