Eamon Ryan (Dublin Bay South, Green Party)
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I will explain again why I am seeking legal advice from the Office of the Parliamentary Legal Advisers separate from the legal advice Deputy Bríd Smith will have. This is unprecedented. In this Dáil the Waste Reduction Bill 2017 has been delayed for two years by the Department by way of a money message, but from the start it was always clear that this would be the mechanism the Government would use. As a result of one and a half years' work on the Petroleum and Other Minerals Development (Amendment) (Climate Emergency Measures) Bill 2018 there was a clear understanding in the debates and discussions that a money message would not be required for it. Other mechanisms were used, especially the split vote at the joint committee that looked at the Bill. We finally overcame it, but at the very last minute, when we were about to proceed to Committee Stage, the money message issue arose. One of the outcomes of Committee Stage would have been amendments to the Bill to make it clear that it would not put a financial burden on the State because it would be made clear that the legislation would only apply to new explorations. There are different views on that matter, but I believe that is where the Bill would have gone.

The Executive is exceeding its powers in the use of a money message at the last minute to stop a debate that was due to take place. Other mechanisms had been tried to do that. It is taking the constitutional provision that we cannot have the Opposition writing the budget. That is fair enough and we have to respect that provision, but in this instance the use of a money message was not for that purpose. It was tactical. That is how it appears from the timelines and process involved. That is why it is a particularly egregious example of the Executive showing disrespect to the Oireachtas and the people's representatives. That is the core of the problem, as well as the underlying issue of Government support for the Bill. The process we have been through has been disrespectful of the Oireachtas in a way that exceeds the Executive's powers.