Eamon Ryan (Dublin Bay South, Green Party) | Oireachtas source

I am nervous about mentioning the word "lawyer" at all. Poor old Deputy Ó Broin and others have had too many lawyers in too many weeks, as I am sure is the case with the Minister. Our intention was not so much to refer to the directive in general but to a recent ECJ decision. I might withdraw the amendment in this case. I will go into the legal assessment and come back on Report Stage. I interpret the Minister as saying he is in some way in train towards doing the work in question but that it may come in a further legislation. Can it be delivered by way of statutory instrument in terms of review of the river basin district and so on? Does the ECJ case to which have referred, C461/13, require us to make any legislative response or are there other mechanisms? If there is a need for a legislative response, it should be noted it is not easy to get legislation through, with timing and so on. If there is a legislative response to the judgment needed - it is not the directive we are talking about but the ECJ's interpretation of it - this might provide the valid opportunity. I might take to the chance to ask my legal advisers about the Minister's earlier response and come back to this on Report Stage.