Carbon tax retreat shows ideology crumbles when bills bite

O ne cannot help but admire the resiliency and optimism of Eamon Ryan, the great evangelist of the Greens who went into government in both 2007 and 2020, when he tells Pavel Barter in today’s News Review section that he still believes people can pull together to fix the climate crisis. Ryan’s optimism, however, must have been sorely tested by the budget given that it did nothing to alleviate rising public transport fares and gutted the carbon tax, two issues central to his core beliefs and his ministerial career. Ireland budget 2027 key points: a summary of the highlights Ryan was one of Ireland’s last serious ideologues, and public life has been much the poorer for his exit. He was an ideas man, even if some of them were too esoteric for most people. Now we are subjected to a politics where there are few ideas, and even fewer ideologues to practise them. Top stories 1 Trump Jr’s ex-fiancée ‘asked donor to pay 0k credit card bill’ US politics 2 Trump’s war with Iran doubles the cost of his rides in ‘the Beast’ US politics 3 Starbucks ‘explores takeover’ of Chipotle Mexican Grill US business 4 ‘More lives will be lost’ unless UK takes action on wildfires Environment Those who are driven by ideas are routinely rejected by the public, who are far more interested in electing politicians who can do things for them as individuals not for society. Voters are not concerned about ideas. They are worried about how government decisions affect them on a daily basis. We are governed by a technocracy because that is what the people want. Advertisement Ask yourself this on a Sunday morning: what do the various parties stand for? Let’s start with the government. Many associate Fine Gael with sound money, financial prudence, a commitment to law and order and social justice. This is how Fine Gael might like to see itself, but it is a parody. 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Now he’s out of the picture Football 71 comments 4 500 arrested as French police use tear gas during student protests Europe 52 comments 5 Oliver Glasner: Premier League’s integrity at risk if Man City case drags on Football 33 comments For its part Fianna Fail sees itself as the republican party, standing for social solidarity. The problem for Fianna Fail is that most republicans think it is not strong enough in seeking Irish unity, and its social solidarity compass has at times been hopelessly mired in confusion. In trying to be all things to all men and women it ends up standing for little except a longing to be in power. The rural independents, the third leg of the coalition, are just prophets of clientelism promising mysterious returns for votes. At least they have had the cojones to go into government in an attempt to deliver on their promises. As for the opposition, Sinn Fein’s raison d’être remains a united Ireland, which most people in the Republic are not too bothered about one way or the other. It portrays itself as left-wing but, as Davy Stockbrokers pointed out two years ago after a meeting with Pearse Doherty, its finance spokesman, its economic approach is more like Tony Blair’s than Jeremy Corbyn’s. Advertisement The same economic orthodoxy goes for the Social Democrats and Labour, indistinguishable as parties to everyone but themselves. Spending more and taxing less, except for the very wealthy, is the mantra of the soft left. Aontu also falls into this bracket but is distinguished from the rest by its opposition to abortion. It is a party established out of a dispute between its founder, Peadar Tóibín, and his original party, Sinn Fein. But beyond abortion and a personality clash, it is just another tax-and-spend party. Ireland newsletter Our best in-depth reads, exclusive features, news and a note from our editors in Ireland. Sign up with one click You’ve successfully signed up to the Ireland newsletter Explore our newsletters An error occurred. Please use the link below. Ireland newsletter Explore our newsletters The new boys on the block, Independent Ireland, say they are the party of common sense but a cursory glance at their reaction to the budget shows they too want to spend more. Ken O’Flynn claimed in the Dail that the government was spending too much — but at the same time he wanted to scrap the universal social charge and carbon tax on home heating fuels. Eliminating waste seems to be the magical cure to overspending for all parties. Real ideas are nowhere to be seen. The only ideologues in Irish politics are People Before Profit and the Greens, and between them they received 5.6 per cent of the vote in the last general election. The difference between them is People Before Profit live in a weird Marxist fantasy world of astronomical spending based on the notion of taxing the rich while having no real interest in governing, whereas the Greens actually have plunged into power twice in the past two decades, got things done and paid the electoral price. The Greens might have their own fantasy spending plans, but at least they know about governing. Advertisement The last big idea in Irish politics was the introduction of the carbon tax in the 2010 budget. As the planet inexorably warms, efforts to reduce emissions are essential to future generations. Coalition parties divided over plan to slow carbon tax increases At its simplest, carbon tax is a government charge applied to carbon-emitting fuels such as natural gas, home heating oil, petrol and diesel. It is the single biggest legacy of the Greens in government having been introduced in the 2010 budget when it was made applicable to all CO 2 emission sources. That budget was Brian Lenihan’s third in 14 months as minister for finance in the Fianna Fail-Green coalition, and was famous for his last two lines: “Our plan is working. We have turned the corner.” Less than a year later the troika was in Ireland. This week, Lenihan’s heir Simon Harris announced that the government is cutting carbon tax on home heating oil and gas and shelving planned increases for the rest of its term. This is a significant about-turn on the long-standing policy of annual rises. Despite the cut, Darragh O’Brien, the minister for climate, energy and the environment, insisted with the straightest of faces that the government was still committed to the carbon tax. This was the political equivalent of St Augustine’s make me chaste but not yet. Fourteen months after the introduction of the carbon tax, the Greens lost all their seats at the February 2011 election. The party fought back and took the brave decision to go into government in 2020. It paid a heavy price at the November 2024 election, losing all but one of its seats. Advertisement That lonely soldier, Roderic O’Gorman, painted this week’s budget as one without imagination, without strategy, without a sense of direction for where it wants our country to go. He was right, but he does not have to worry about potential fuel protests and the rising cost of living. Our technocratic government does, and that is why the carbon tax has been sidelined. Ryan is continuing the good fight as a harbinger of climate action, but, alas, few are listening.