Eamon Ryan (Dublin Bay South, Green Party)
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We are looking at that legal interpretation. People will have various views on that. It is not certain. There are other arguments that it is necessary and that the Act does not specifically mandate a sectorial target in each area per se. There has been a change and we have been upfront in saying that in this committee and elsewhere. That was because the facts changed. I am not talking about the facts changing in terms of numbers changing or that it became more challenging but, rather, that the level of uncertainty is not going to go away for the next decade. It is going to continue to adjust, according to the best scientists. In those circumstances, it is best to go towards an EU counting system where it is about your distance to the target rather than about what the exact target level is. It shows whether you are making progress.

The land use review that we established is probably the most important of all the climate actions we have taken and all the administrative structures we have put in place. It is chaired by Geraldine Tallon, who is a former Secretary General of the Department of the environment. Professor Mark Scott of UCD, who is probably one of the most eminent scientists in the area, and Rory O'Donnell, who is a former head of the National Economic and Social Council, provide real leadership in pulling together the Departments of housing and agriculture and my own Department. They will have to deliver this autumn. A full report will be available early next year but they will be presenting further evidence on the optimisation we need to make in carbon reduction storage, biodiversity restoration and rural development. Admitting the scientific reality about how emissions are measured is the appropriate thing to do. It ensures everyone involved knows and understands some of the complexities as we come to solutions.