Pearse Doherty (Donegal, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Cuirim fáilte roimh an toscaireacht anseo. I welcome the presentations.

I wish to ask Mr. Bristow questions on the three specific points that he has raised. In the earlier session, we heard on the first point that it is about ISIF being allowed to retain its ability to allow for the transition to a low carbon economy, which is very much in line with what Dr. Deane was saying there at the very end, to allow for continued investment in companies which would be deemed fossil fuel companies but are moving to or investing in alternative methods. I believe there is probably scope there, from what I heard earlier, to deal with that in amendments.

Therefore, I want to move on to the second point that Mr. Bristow made. He talked about how this should be staggered and the dirtier end of the spectrum should be targeted first, and the rest can be moved on to at a later stage. I want Mr. Bristow to explain to the committee why he is making the argument that the legislation should focus on that, given that he has made the comment that the ISIF is divesting from its global portfolio within the five years that are laid down in the draft legislation anyway. Why would we need to target, in legislation, the dirtier end of the spectrum, when Mr. Bristow himself says that ISIF will have divested from all of these global assets within five years? He stated earlier that ISIF's investment in Ireland's energy sector is targeted at facilitating the transition to a low-carbon economy, so I presume it is not investing in the dirty end. Why would he need to water down - which I would suggest is what he is suggesting - legislation when he is really saying that he is going to do what the legislation is aimed at achieving anyway?