Eamon Ryan (Dublin Bay South, Green Party)
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I wish to raise a matter now rather than at the end of the meeting. As the Chairman will know, at the recent meeting of the Committee on Communications, Climate Action and Environment, we asked the Minister, Deputy Naughten, about the consultation document on the national energy and climate action plan. Last week, his Secretary General said that the completion of the document was imminent and that it was about to go on to his desk, but today the Minister said that he did not receive anything. With the committee's timelines being so tight, access to information is crucial. Part of the committee's job is to open up this process. We, as a committee, should not be backward in asking Departments for documents and, if they are not presenting them, we should ask why. For example, and perhaps the Clerk to the Committee will confirm, we said that in advance of the Secretary General at the Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport coming here on Thursday, we would get some of the Department's proposals for the new plan. What we need to avoid is what we had last week, which was a Secretary General listing everything contained in previous documents that anyone can read for themselves. Listing things is of no use to the committee. What we need is to know what is new. I do not know whether we have received the presentation from the Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport in advance, which is what we asked for.