Government 'cynical' on Carbon Tax: AA

The addition of further taxation to fuel prices by the Government was a 'cynical' move that has further put up the cost of living for Irish motorists.

That's the view of AA Ireland, whose spokesman Conor Faughnan also damned the tax as being 'falsely named'.

The organisation's director of policy was commenting on the latest survey of fuel prices which showed 'sharp' increases in petrol and diesel at Irish forecourts. The average now is 134.4c a litre for petrol and 125.5c per litre for diesel.

“World factors like oil and the dollar are only part of the story,” says Faughnan. “The bigger issue is tax. Of your €200 or so monthly fuel bill, more than €120 goes directly to the government in tax. In adding to that amount in the last budget through the cynically and quite falsely named Carbon Tax it has been the Irish government, rather than the global economy, which has pushed up our cost of living.”