Timmy Dooley (Clare, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

Or in limbo. I understand that is not the case. A proposal was made and, unfortunately, it was defeated. It was not that we did not agree. Following a tight vote, it was defeated under the procedures of the committee. Perhaps we can get some clarity from the secretariat in due course. My understanding is that the report falls, unfortunately. In effect, it has been defeated. That is the procedure, regardless of whether we like it. I certainly do not like it because I wanted the Bill to proceed. I had issues with it, but I was happy to seek to amend it. Clarity is needed so that we do not give people false hope that the Bill is somehow hovering in a waiting pattern and can be advanced with some other organ of Parliament. My understanding is that this cannot happen.

This really is a sad day. It is a sad outcome from all the work we have done. We should go out the door knowing that. We have no choice but to accept the democratic legitimacy of the committee structure. Obviously, we will have an opportunity to address that elsewhere. As somebody who is really interested in addressing the issue of climate change, I recognise that the battle goes on. It is not going to be easy. Vested interests are working against-----