Bríd Smith (Dublin South Central, People Before Profit Alliance)
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I confirm I am on the campus of Leinster House. This is an historic move by the Minister. It is exceedingly welcome. Ireland will be among a handful of countries across the globe that will be banning oil and gas exploration. I worry, however, why the Minister has felt the need to double down in this Bill on existing legislation, thereby allowing companies that have licences to move on to the next level. While it is welcome that the Bill will prevent future licensing, why does the Minister want to double down on what is already in legislation? I find that slightly worrying although it is very welcome news that several of the licences have expired and are not being renewed. Why does the Minister want and feel the need to double down on what is already written into legislation? Would enshrining it in this Bill, by way of a double whammy, not give reassurance to the fossil fuel industry that regardless of circumstances and if we failed to meet our targets and something awful happened on the planet, we would allow it to? I agree with the Minister that we do not want a native fossil fuel industry. We have moved beyond that. Time is running out. We need to move away from fossil fuel extraction.

I acknowledge the mass movement that pushed this issue. It repeatedly stated we need system change, not climate change, and that fossil fuel should be kept in the ground. That was the main slogan. It is a great tribute to those people, mainly the young, who fought so hard to get us to this point. It is welcome but I have questions.