Eamon Ryan (Dublin Bay South, Green Party) | Oireachtas source

I will absolutely engage in good faith, will listen to every word and be open to any suggestion but I should also be honest. Good faith also means not giving a false picture. I will say to Deputy Whitmore that we are usually very open to accepting amendments. We were involved in legislation last year on the establishment of the carbon fund from the National Oil Reserves Agency levy. The Deputy may recall there was a provision in that, on Committee or Second Stage, where she made the case to amend that legislation to include investment in, and protection of, biodiversity and community investment for this transition. I was not able to make the amendment in that legislation but I committed to come back to it in this legislation and we have already adjusted it.

It is no lack of willingness to listen and adjust but, to reiterate the point I made, there has not been such significant legislation before the Oireachtas in my time, which goes back to 2002 with a short interval out. It has major implications for the operations of the State in every aspect of its work. The work done during pre-legislative scrutiny of this Bill was, to my mind, highly unusual. It is very unusual that a draft Bill goes for pre-legislative scrutiny where it is drafted line by line. In effect, what this committee did in the pre-legislative scrutiny process was akin to Committee Stage, in that line-by-line amended recommendations went back to Government. We listened and amended, quite significantly, the legislation to reflect that. There is no disrespect to the committee. I have engaged in this process very much in good faith, but part of that is being honest about the belief within my Department, and my own view, that the legislation as drafted is very well structured, thanks to the committee as much as anything else.