Marc Ó Cathasaigh (Waterford, Green Party)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

I congratulate the Chairperson on her ascension to the role. I thank the committee members for the opportunity to address them regarding my Private Member's Bill, the Commission for Future Generations Bill 2023. I acknowledge the important work this committee has done over the course of this Dáil term and thank committee members for taking the time in their work schedule to consider this legislation.

My pathway to developing this Bill began with a conversation with Jane Davidson, former Labour minister for environment and sustainability in the Welsh Assembly, who will be addressing the committee later. We were speaking about how to embed well-being frameworks into policy-making and decision-making in a meaningful way and she described to me the process whereby she legislated for the creation of the office of Future Generations Commissioner for Wales. I subsequently learned a great deal more about the power and potential of that role and had the pleasure of meeting both Sophie Howe, the previous holder of that office, and Derek Walker, the current incumbent. These engagements convinced me of the potential for a similar office in the Irish context to champion the implementation of our own well-being framework, to embed the sustainability principle into all that we do and to be a voice for the voiceless, advocating for future generations who cannot yet speak for themselves.

I must be honest and say that the scale of this Bill's ambition does not match that of the Welsh legislation. It would be well beyond the resources of any individual TD's office to address such a piece of work through a Private Member's Bill. Instead, this Bill is intended to be the first step along the road towards that end goal, providing for the funding and resourcing of a body to fully explore the potential of creating an office of ombudsman for future generations in the Irish context.

The central ambition behind the Bill is to establish an independent commission for future generations to consider and report within 12 months on how best to set up an office of ombudsman for future generations in Ireland. The proposed commission for future generations could also make recommendations on a number of areas, including: measurement of the progress of the overall well-being of our society; how best to ensure best practice among public bodies and Departments while adhering to the principle of sustainable development; and the potential role of an Oireachtas joint committee on future generations. Many of the sections in the Bill are technical in nature and set out the necessary administrative structures needed to underpin the founding, reporting and dissolution of such a commission. I am happy to explore them in detail should the committee so wish but they are standard provisions for the most part.

Section 3 sets out the functions of the commission, specifying that it should have regard to the well-being framework as well as any intergenerational issues, including the climate and biodiversity emergencies, the provision of care to children and older people, demographic changes and intergenerational income and wealth distribution. This list is not intended to be exhaustive, and this may be an area where committee members might want to suggest changes or inclusions by way of amendment.

Section 5 sets out various criteria for how members of the commission should be appointed, taking into account experience and knowledge of areas such as climate science, ecology, economics, intergenerational equity, public health, culture and the arts, community development, spatial planning and some other areas. It also stipulates that the Minister should ensure, as far as is practicable, that a balance be struck in the composition of the commission to take account of gender, age, ethnic and cultural background and speakers of the Irish and English language.

Section 15 is perhaps the most consequential section because it details the proposed output of the commission established. It specifies that the commission shall report not later than 12 months after the appointment of its members. Within that report, the commission should make recommendations on a number of matters specified in section 15(4), which reads:

(a) the progress of the overall well-being of society while adhering to the principle of sustainable development,

(b) the collection of data and measurable parameters in relation to well-being in order to measure the progress of the overall well-being of society,

(c) the predictions of likely future trends in the economic, social, environmental and cultural well-being of the State,

(d) how to ensure best practice amongst public bodies and government departments in their practices and actions to progress the well-being of society while adhering to the principle of sustainable development,

(e) the potential role of a Joint Oireachtas Committee on Future Generations,

(f) the adequacy and effectiveness of legislation and practices in the State relating to the principle of sustainable development,

There are further provisions that the members can read themselves.

These are the principal provisions of the Bill as I see them. As stated, the Bill is intended as a stepping stone rather than a destination. It is a way of meaningfully resourcing a national piece of research and a national conversation about how we can counter the short-termism of our democratic cycle to make sure that the needs of future generations are not sacrificed for present-day political expediency. It is an opportunity for Ireland to join the vanguard of nations that are making legislative change to take account of those generations that will come after us.

I thank the staff of the Office of the Parliamentary Counsel for their patience and support in drafting the Bill and my research team, Síle Ginnane and Séafra Ó Faoláin, who put extensive work into the preparation of the Bill.

There is an old Greek proverb which states a society grows great when old men plant trees whose shade they know they shall never sit in. I believe in this Bill and in this approach because I believe that future people matter even if I cannot meet, hear or know them and I believe that young people count even if they will not count at the ballot box in the next election or the election after that. The choices we make in the here and now must balance the needs of today with the challenges of tomorrow.