Réada Cronin (Kildare North, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I thank our two guest speakers. My first question is directed at Dr. Andrew Jackson. He mentioned his concern about the CCAC having ex officiomembers, which is contrary to the recommendations made by the Joint Committee on the Environment, Culture and the Gaeltacht in 2013. Is this the practice followed in other jurisdictions? What are the potential downsides of their presence on the CCAC? I am thinking about voting mechanisms. Should those members have the same voting weight as independent members?

Carbon leakage has been referred to a few times. Professor Sweeney expressed a concern in that regard, and mentioned countries with stricter climate laws than our own. If our legislation is seen as lax, could Ireland see a growth in data centres, which we know are very energy-intensive and water-intensive? We have seen that already. Is there any way we could address that in this Bill?