Jennifer Whitmore (Wicklow, Social Democrats) | Oireachtas source

I thank the witnesses for their presentations. I find it very interesting that a lot of the issues they have raised have been raised by other experts too, which goes to show the importance of significant pre-legislative scrutiny of the Bill. There are some obvious gaps in the legislation as it stands. I was going to raise many of the issues raised by Senator Boylan regarding nature-based solutions and how we ensure the implementation of such solutions do not have adverse biodiversity impacts. How do we get that balance right? We can plant a whole stand of trees or even a forest but if it is on the wrong site, it will have negative biodiversity impacts. It may provide a carbon storage facility but it will have biodiversity impacts. Are there any good international examples of climate legislation that has managed to get that balance right?

Professor Sweeney also mentioned public officials and the voting on the council and I agree that it is a problem. I also think there is an issue with regard to achieving gender balance on the council. If there are three officials who are senior civil servants they will more than likely be male and that will impact on the council's ability to achieve gender balance, which is something of which we should be conscious.

In terms of looking at international examples, if we were to rank this Bill as it stands against countries like the UK, Scotland or New Zealand, where would it stand? If we strengthen its language, as has been recommended by the witnesses, will that bring it up to the standard of the aforementioned international examples?