Environment minister Martin Cullen said that Ireland would face an annual bill of €260 million over five years to reduce the country’s emissions to below 1990 levels. But he warned the alternative would be a €1.2 billion fine within a decade.
Cullen said the charge to the individual would be low if the cost was spread across every sector, but added that Ireland was currently 23% above 1990 emissions level and heading for 37%, meaning that a carbon tax would only go part way to meeting Kyoto targets.
“The average in Europe per person of carbon dioxide produced is about 10lb; in Ireland it is 17.7lb, so we have a very serious problem,” he said.
A spokesperson for the Irish Department of Environment told edie that ministers had yet to finalise the figures.