Oireachtas Joint and Select Committees
Tuesday, 9 May 2017
Select Committee on Communications, Climate Action and Environment
Prohibition of the Exploration and Extraction of Onshore Petroleum Bill 2016: Committee Stage
5:30 pm
Brian Stanley (Laois, Sinn Fein)
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I was unable to speak on Committee Stage because I was stuck in the Chamber debating Priority Questions. As I have mentioned before, committees sitting at the same time as oral parliamentary questions are being dealt with in the Dáil Chamber is problematic for Members.
I wish to raise a number of issues at Committee Stage. I welcome the Bill and my party supports the fact that the legislation has moved quickly.
We await further information on a number of matters. Last week we got some of the information from the Department and I thank the officials for their clarifications. I will table amendments on Report Stage because I want to ensure that the legislation is tight. I will table amendments on offshore drilling as it takes place along the coasts of other countries. We have a great opportunity to ensure that we get the legislation right. We also have a responsibility to ensure that the Bill moves quickly. I will address offshore drilling by tabling amendments on Report Stage.