Denis Naughten (Roscommon-Galway, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I am glad the Minister brought up the carbon budget, which I intended to address at a later stage but I will address it now. I fully accept this is a very complex structure. I also fully accept and do not dispute there are various elements of consultation involved in it with the Climate Change Advisory Council, the committee, the public and so forth. However, the only ratification role Dáil Éireann has is in approving the 2025 carbon budget. It has no role in the 2030 carbon budget and the draft of the 2035 carbon budget. In a perverse drafting of this legislation, if Dáil Éireann rejects the 2025 budget, the Minister can bring in whatever budget he or she likes after that within 60 days. If Dáil Éireann rejects the carbon budget, it has no function or role regarding it. It has no say whatsoever regarding the 2030 carbon budget, which is set in stone once this legislation is enacted, and it has the potential to amend the 2035 carbon budget. However, at this stage we do not have the evidence to allow for us to amend that particular carbon budget, and that is the only role the Dáil has. If we reject it, we hand that power back to the Minister of the day regardless of what our objections are. The Minister by presenting an alternative budget or the same budget again to Cabinet, will result in that budget automatically becoming law.

The Dáil has no role whatsoever in ratifying the sectoral plans. The Minister has given assurances regarding a just transition and I accept the sincerity with which they were given. I full accept where he is coming from and I know his heart is in the right place in that regard, but the difficulty is that in five or ten years' time he may not be the Minister. The Minister of the day may have a very different perspective. We could have a Minister in office at that stage who is a climate change denier. Such a Minister could effectively implement whatever he or she so wishes. If the Dáil rejects it, the Minister can bring in whatever he or she likes within 60 days and it automatically becomes law. That is wrong. The National Parliament must be involved in the approval of this. Last week many colleagues engaged in heated debate on legislation on the health provision regarding Covid. People argued the Dáil should have a role in reviewing it. We cannot argue that the Dáil should have a role in reviewing those restrictions when in this legislation we are effectively giving a blank cheque to the Minister of the day to do whatever he or she wants - to divide up this carbon budget in whichever way he or she wants. It is imperative there is a ratification process which must be either accepted or rejected by Dáil Éireann without any caveats that if we reject it, we have no further say in it. I would plead with the Minister to accept this amendment.