A request made by farm contractors to postpone the planned carbon tax increase is reasonable and should be acceded to, according to independent TD Carol Nolan.
Commenting on the recent request made by the Association of Farm & Forestry Contractors in Ireland (FCI) to Minister for Finance Paschal Donohoe, deputy Nolan said she has previously called on the Government to re-examine the decision to apply the €6/t carbon tax increase to the use of green diesel.
This, the Laois-Offaly TD claims, was “because it was expected to add a minimum of €0.02/litre to agricultural/green diesel prices from May 2020“.
As I understand it from the FCI, the grass silage harvest, pit silage and baled silage accounts for consumption of upwards of 214 million litres of diesel annually.
This amount, the TD noted, accounts for close to 61% of the total annual fuel consumption by Farm Contractors in Ireland.
“To continue to insist that we apply the carbon tax to this volume and to continue to exclude it from the carbon tax rebate is going to cause major financial challenges – in addition to those being thrown up by Covid-19,” deputy Nolan added.
“It is also deeply alarming to note the FCI view that this move, if carried through will force them to increase all contractor charges to Irish farmers for 2020 by 5%.
This is a lose-lose scenario for everyone concerned and it must be reconsidered.
“Rebate on fuel must be a key component in terms of maintaining financial viability for all sectors that cannot operate without it,” concluded deputy Nolan