Social Justice Ireland call for €500m 'sustainability package' in upcoming Budget

Social Justice Ireland is calling on the Government to introduce a €500m 'sustainability package' in the upcoming Budget.

The group says the country's greenhouse gas emissions are nearly 3m tonnes over what they should be to meet our 2020 targets.

The sustainability package would include investment in retrofitting to help us move to a low carbon economy.

Social Justice Ireland CEO, Dr. Sean Healy says the money would go towards retrofitting, upgrading renewable energy, improving the infrastructure for electric vehicles and biodiversity.

To pay for this, Dr Healy suggests:

• A levy on single-use coffee cups
• A commercial air transport tax
• Increasing the carbon tax by €10 per tonne

"Minister Bruton has stated that our society must take action now to ensure that our homes, our enterprises, our farms and our communities will be resilient in changing world - a sustainability package in Budget 2020 is a vital first step towards this," Dr Healy said.