Mr. Peter Brennan:

The stronger the language the better. The word “shall” should be used instead of “may”. That would give policy makers, regulators and investors a much higher degree of confidence as to where we were going. For example, in head 4(1) reference could be made to the language used by the European Council in supporting a stretched target for 2050.

This committee's predecessor recommended two provisions that are not contained in the Bill. The first was that a new agency should be established, blending the EPA, Environmental Protection Agency, and the SEAI, Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland, to have a climate change and energy agency. That has not happened and it is now the responsibility of the EPA through the Department of the Environment, Community and Local Government. I have no problem with this if it works. However, the Bill is silent on the energy and related issues regarding climate change. There must be an overall co-ordinated strategy in order that the energy efficiency and other energy-related issues, as well as the renewables piece, are blended into the climate change piece.

The previous committee also suggested the Taoiseach have overall responsibility. The architecture in the Bill, with the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government and the expert group, will work. The National Economic and Social Council, NESC, has produced fantastic work. All of the evidence needed to establish a national plan is in the public domain and the Department has been driving the negotiations at international level. The political and delivery infrastructure as envisaged in the Bill is fit for purpose.

There is also a strong role for the Dáil in terms of accounting and reporting. More particularly, there is a strong role for this committee to be questioning and querying the expert advisory group to discuss specific issues. For example, the expert advisory group could take its own initiative to produce a policy document on Ireland’s response to the post-2020 negotiations or the Commission’s Green Paper on 2030 targets. This committee will have a significant role to play in the coming years.