Ciarán Cuffe (Dún Laoghaire, Green Party)

This Bill represents an affront to democracy. It allows Ministers to enact European legislation without coming to the floor of this House. That is bad for Europe, Ireland and democracy. All these statutory instruments and ministerial regulations should be brought before this House for debate before becoming law. It is not right that regulations, which often dramatically change the way in which this State interacts with the public, are brought in through the back door. These regulations should come under the scrutiny of the House. European legislation should not be brought in by the back door. It is an affront to democracy that the Minister would try to rush through legislation to effect this change.

We should enact European Union legislation but we should do it right. I cite the example of the Aarhus agreement, which is based on ensuring that the public's voice is heard. We are still waiting for the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government to properly enshrine the provisions of that agreement in Irish legislation. Surely the public has a right to know about it. Surely the Legislature has a right to give its views on proposed regulations and the incorporation of European statute into Irish law. I ask that the Minister of State ensures that this House and the people are part of that process and that we do not simply rubber stamp European laws and bring them in through the back door.

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