Dr. ?ine Ryall:

Briefly, I agree regarding the question of balance. This is always going to be difficult to achieve, especially in a time of crisis. I fully agree as well regarding the parallels drawn with the climate action plan. Similar mechanisms could be brought over into the nature and biodiversity arena. Moving to the accountability mechanisms that are there, holding politicians and civil servants to account is fundamental to ensure there is implementation on the ground.

On the Constitution, again, any amendment, as I said earlier, or even thinking about any such amendment, is a very serious exercise. There is the potential element of the lack of predictability in this context, but this comes back to how we might like to use a constitutional amendment. Specifically, I refer to a situation where we were to come up with an amendment that could support and promote what the State wants to achieve in terms of having a better quality of environmental protection. In this regard, I highlight the wording adopted in the UN resolution, namely, "a clean, healthy and sustainable environment". I would also draw in the parallels that were mentioned with renewable energy, which is, of course, so crucial. Part of us delivering a clean, healthy and sustainable environment does involve the move to renewables. All these aspects are, therefore, interconnected, so I would not necessarily see potential amendments involving environmental rights as being all about the environment. It is a much bigger picture in terms of our society and economy and those other concerns mentioned.

I appreciate that this matter is challenging, but there are advantages to the constitutionalisation in respect of upping the ante as regards the importance of the environment fundamentally being referred to there, being visible and having to be taken into account.

It is very hard to get away from that and that is the direction in which everybody is moving internationally.