Marc Ó Cathasaigh (Waterford, Green Party) | Oireachtas source

I have given consideration to the amendment tabled by Deputy Sherlock and it is another way of skinning the cat. Some of my later amendments go to the idea of divestment, particularly in respect of fossil fuels and the arms industry but amendment No. 13 is another way to skin that cat. Within a private pension I can avail of the option to invest in an ESG-friendly green pension product and in that way choose where to spend my money. That will not be an option with the current wording of the legislation for people who are in auto-enrolment, which will be a large number of people.

There is another thing that we could achieve with Deputy Sherlock's amendment. We know there is an element of choice, as in people can choose their investment, which is to the good. There is also a level of inertia and we know from auto-enrolment systems across the world that very often the one that somebody defaults into is the one to which they will remain loyal. We are all the same when it comes to banking products. We tend to look away and not do due diligence to make sure we are happy with where we are currently. I think Deputy Sherlock's amendment makes a lot of sense and I am sure the Minister will have a view on it. The amendment would give an option either through the default or through choice for somebody to make the decision that he or she wants his or her money invested in a particular way.

The purpose of amendment No. 13 differs from the purpose of my two amendments, which are part of this group of amendments. This section is about the level of risk that can be taken. My two amendments are agnostic in terms of fossil fuels, ESG considerations or whatever else. My amendments say that climate risk in investment practices should be explicitly factored into the equation. There are plenty of examples of this worldwide. We know it is not going to be a good example to make long-term investments in properties on the Florida Keys. Anybody who saw the excellent programme recently "Rising Tides: Ireland's Future in a Warmer World" with Philip Boucher-Hayes will know there is a whole town in Wales, God help it, where the Welsh Government has said it is not going to be able to afford to protect the town in the long term, so the value of properties there has crashed and everything that goes along with that. It is tragic situation for that town. Similarly, we should make explicit within legislation that there are climate risks that go with different types of investment, which should be factored in when the Minister makes regulations prescribing the type of risk, scale and methodology that should be used. My amendments suggest such provision can be inserted into two separate places. Both of my amendments use practically the same wording and seek the insertion of the words "with particular reference to the latest custom and practice regarding the pricing of climate-related risks” to make this explicit in the legislation and ensure this is part of the risk profile that investors are asked to take cognisance of when making investments on behalf of the people.