Michael D'Arcy (Wexford, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

Amendment No. 2 will correct the Bill’s reference to section 2 of the National Treasury Management Agency (Amendment) Act 2014. The reference should instead be to section 37 of the Act. While section 2 of the Act outlines the definitions for the Act as a whole, it is section 37 which outlines the definitions in respect of ISIF. Therefore, any definitions arising out of this Bill should be inserted in section 37.

Amendment No. 3 is a technical drafting change which is necessary to reflect that I am proposing that a number of new definitions be inserted in the section and not just one. Therefore, the reference to the plural is necessary. Amendment No. 4 is a technical drafting change which is necessary to reflect that, as per amendment No. 2, the definitions arising from this Bill should be in section 37 and not section 2.

Amendment No. 5 seeks to address the issue posed by the word "partly" whereby minimal levels of exposure to fossil fuels would be captured by the definition of a fossil fuel company. The amendment seeks to change the definition to "mainly", which would target companies whose main line of business is based on fossil fuels and which are the target of the Bill's provisions.

Amendments Nos. 6 and 7 seek to address the issue posed by the broad scope of the definition of "fossil fuel company". They seek to narrow the scope of the definition on the core aspects of fossil fuel activity, which I understand is the ultimate target of the Bill.

Amendment No. 8 seeks to address the concerns that ISIF investments in SMEs could be captured by the existing Bill because such entities are unlikely to be listed companies. The insertion of this amendment will ensure that the focus will be on the large international fossil fuel companies, which, we assume, is the intention behind the Bill.

Amendment No. 9 is technical and necessary due to the numbering and ordering conventions of legislative drafting. The Bill proposes a new subsection. Due to the ordering of section 39 of the National Treasury Management Agency (Amendment) Act 2014, this new subsection must be inserted before section 7. Therefore, this new subsection must be numbered 6(A).

Amendment No. 10 is necessary as the Bill’s reference to "direct" and "indirect" appears intended to capture ISIF's Irish and global investments. However, the labels of "direct" and "indirect" do not refer to the global and Irish portfolios. Instead, they are types of investment that can feature in both portfolios. In order to address this, the amendment seeks to remove any ambiguity by clarifying that the provision applies to fossil fuel investments and complements this by inserting elsewhere an appropriate definition for a fossil fuel investment.

Amendment No. 11 is technical and necessary due to the conventions of legislative drafting. Amendment No. 12 complements amendment No. 10 and is necessary to ensure clarity and consistency regarding ISIF's Irish and global investments. In order to address this, the amendment seeks to remove any ambiguity by clarifying that the provision applies to fossil fuel investments. I think amendment No. 13 in the name of Deputy Michael McGrath is next.