People Before Profit have announced that they are bringing a Bill to the Dáil proposing to ban private jets from Irish airspace.
And at the same time, Sinn Féin are looking to tackle private jets too with their proposal to slap massive taxes of €3,000 each on the luxury flyers.
The moves from both parties came after Greenpeace released the latest analysis of the use of private jets in Ireland.
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It showed that there were 6,671 private flights in Ireland in 2022, an increase in private jet use of 159% compared to 2021- equating to a 246% increase in carbon emissions during the same period.
It was also estimated that the average private jet flight in Ireland had the same emissions as 40,000kms of petrol car travel.
Greenpeace has called on the EU and governments internationally to ban private jet use in order to equitably tackle carbon emissions.
People Before Profit’s Bríd Smith said: “We are bringing forward this legislation to ban private jet travel over Irish air space because they are a major source of carbon emissions. “They are completely inequitable in that only the very wealthy can use them.
“Private jets are up to 14 times more polluting, per passenger, than commercial planes and 50 times more polluting than trains.
“About 40% of private jet flights are empty as they travel to a pick-up location.
“It is completely unjust that ordinary people are bearing the brunt of the climate crisis, such as hikes in carbon taxes while having no real alternatives to change personal behaviour.
“The recent rejection by the government of fare free public transport is one example of this. “Yet very wealthy people use private jets which are so destructive to the climate.”
The ban does not apply to scheduled conventional commercial flights, medical evacuation flights, flights concerning national security, flights concerning a foreign sovereign state, private military jets and private jets belonging to the State and exclusively assigned to a public service, and flights concerning flight training schools.
Meanwhile, Sinn Féin Senator Lynn Boylan said: “Sinn Féin’s Alternative Budget called for the introduction of a €3,000 private jet tax but when I raised it in the Seanad, it was dismissed by the Government claiming a lack of data.
“Well, now we have the data and it is worse than we had estimated.
“The carbon emissions of private jets in Ireland have soared to 67,903 tonnes, with one average flight emitting roughly the same emissions as a petrol car driving 40,000km.
“The Irish government need to take the lead on this issue.
“Climate justice advocates have long argued that not all carbon emissions are created equal. To date, the government's approach has been about punishing ordinary people while the wealthy are exempt to continue living their carbon-intensive lifestyles.
“Ideally, I would like to see an end to non-essential private jets but as a bare minimum, a levy on private jets would at least demonstrate that the government are in fact committed to a real, just transition.”
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