Duncan Smith (Dublin Fingal, Labour) | Oireachtas source

I fully support the amendment tabled by Deputy O'Rourke and his colleagues. Deputy Bruton said just transition appears throughout the programme for Government. That is great but it led to an expectation that when foundational legislation such as this, which we all agree is important, was introduced, we would see what was in the programme for Government reflected therein. We do not see it reflected to the extent we are comfortable or confident it will make a big difference. That is where we are coming form. Nobody wants to delay this Bill; we just want to improve it.

After last week, the fact these amendments will not be accepted has taken much of the air out of this committee process. Much of the dialogue I had over the weekend with stakeholders reflected that. It is disappointing that neither the amendments nor variations thereof will be accepted. Nobody is protective of the exact wording. We just want to see progress on this. The programme for Government will remain an aspirational document until it is reflected in legislation and other actions by Government and we do not see that in this, as currently presented and debated.