SVP President Kieran Stafford Any levies or taxes introduced by the Government to mitigate carbon emissions should not impact those living in poverty, the President of the Society of St Vincent de Paul (SVP) in Ireland has said.
“The vast majority of the people that we visit rely on fossil fuels to heat their homes,” Kieran Stafford told The Irish Catholic. “As it stands, half of those living in consistent poverty go without heating due to the cost, so any additional taxes in respect to that will draw those people into a more dire situation than they are.”
Speaking following the publication of the society’s pre-budget submission ‘Investing in a Just Society’, Mr Stafford said: “Traditionally people that we visit are people on a low income, in consistent poverty and are in inefficient energy homes. There needs to be a two-pronged approach in that accommodation must be upgraded so that they’re warmer and cheaper to heat.”