Carbon tax 'will put jobs at risk'

GOVERNMENT plans to bring in a carbon tax to reduce greenhouse gases will cost information and communications technology (ICT) businesses over €30 million each year, according to ICT Ireland, which is part of employers' group IBEC.

ICT Ireland director Brendan Butler said the industry was "fundamentally opposed" to a carbon tax, which he said would damage competitiveness, contribute to higher inflation and eventually result in job losses.

The group said it recognised that Ireland needed to cut down on greenhouse gas emissions as a result of the Kyoto Treaty, the international agreement that aims to force countries to improve their policies on the environment.

But Mr Butler said a carbon tax would not cause Irish businesses to change their behaviour and would instead add costs without delivering environmental benefits.

"A carbon tax will only succeed in changing behaviour if a company improves its efficiency. However, many Irish-based ICT companies have already reached or are moving towards optimum energy efficiency. Clearly, a large segment of this industry will not be able to improve efficiency because they already operate to best practice," he said.

Mr Butler warned that companies would be forced to leave Ireland and operate in countries with less stringent environmental legislation.

"The net result will be a loss of employment to Ireland, with little overall environmental benefit," he said.

Mr Butler said a carbon tax was "a knee-jerk response to a global and complex problem" and that a more sophisticated and appropriately costed solution would be necessary.