Pearse Doherty
Ceist:141. Deputy Pearse Doherty asked the Minister for Finance if there is a difference in the carbon tax applied to smokeless coal and regular coal. [53357/19]
Amharc ar fhreagraTuesday, 17 December 2019
Ceisteanna (141)
Freagraí scríofa
‘Coal’ is defined in section 77 of the Finance Act 2010 as any fuel in solid form manufactured from coal falling within the EU customs classification Combined Nomenclature (CN code) 2701 or from lignite falling within the CN code 2702 or any energy product within the meaning of Article 2.1 of the Energy Tax Directive (2003/96/EC) in solid form. Solid Fuel Carbon Tax legislation does not set out separate definitions and rates for ‘smokeless coal’ and ‘regular coal’.
I understand that distinctions between regular and smokeless coal are made in the regulatory regime for environmental standards of solid fuel that is overseen by the Department of Communications, Climate Action and Environment which is enforced by local authorities in areas that are designated for use of certain types of solid fuel under air pollution legislation. This is a separate legal and regulatory regime and is not linked to the rates of Solid Fuel Carbon Tax, which is based on the amount of CO2 emitted by a given solid fuel product.