We have an incredible opportunity here for energy security and independence because of our massive wind resource, offshore wind in particular. We have the opportunity to democratise our energy system, give people cheaper bills and, more importantly, give them ownership of the energy system. We have the opportunity to deliver warmer homes, retrofitted homes, a public transport system that is accessible and affordable and, most importantly, the building of sustainable communities. That is what we can do and what we need to do. The Government, however, has taken an entirely different approach. It has taken the approach of targets that it has failed to meet at every hand's turn. It has taken the approach of pontification and hypocrisy, with one rule for households and another rule for data centres and large commercial enterprises. There is no greater example of that than carbon tax. It has almost come to the point that you are not serious about climate action unless you support carbon tax but let us look at the Irish carbon tax and how it is employed. New research from Trinity College Dublin published in the Energy Research & Social Science paper lays bare the deep inequity at the heart of the Irish Government's approach and the Irish carbon tax. The study finds that adoption of sustainable technologies like heat pumps, solar panels and electric vehicles is overwhelmingly concentrated in affluent areas. It says that disadvantaged communities are being left behind by rates five to seven times lower than wealthier areas. The pay-then-reimburse grant model system disproportionately benefits those who can afford high upfront costs. The Government's approach locks out renters, people living in apartments and low-income households. Instead of a just transition, we see a two-tier system where the wealthy get the supports to go green while everyone else is left to foot the bill through higher taxes. That is the reality. In effect, it is a massive transfer of wealth. Those people who are proposing and supporting a carbon tax should say if they are net beneficiaries of the carbon tax and if they are being subsidised in terms of purchase of electric vehicles or retrofitting. Have they drawn down thousands of euro in taxpayers' money while at the same time the rural dweller is left as a massive net contributor? It is a massive transfer of wealth and a deep inequity at the heart of this Government.

Sentiment score: 0.27