Thomas Pringle (Donegal, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I wish to address a couple of points that were made in response to the amendment, especially by the Minister of State. The recommendation of 15% is a Government suggestion. We took that on board from the Government's arguments and included it. To increase it much further would reduce the effectiveness of the Bill and would not make any sense. We believe 15% is more than achievable.

In relation to the ministerial requirement for investments, in section 49A(6) we have removed the Government from the decision-making process and left it to the agency itself to make the decision. That was also an important factor that was raised by the Government.

Deputy Eamon Ryan and other speakers made the point abundantly clear that gas is a fossil fuel. We recognise that gas is a transition fuel in line with the Government's approach and we have included that in the section to allow the process to continue. That is important and should not take from the amendments.

The definition in Ireland of an SME is a company that employs up to 500 people. A small and medium enterprise has a broad definition in the Irish context. We have identified a number of changes to the text. For example, large companies in the business of exploration, extraction or refinement of fossil fuels for combustion or for energy purposes will fall within the scope of the Bill. We do not believe that would capture any significant number of SMEs in this country and for any of those that do the flexibility provision in the Bill ensures that they are still eligible for investment, should that investment be in the transition away from fossil fuels where that contributes to the delivery of the national transition objectives as well.