Liz McManus (Wicklow, Labour)

Before we agree to this proposal - I am not seeking a vote against it - I ask the Taoiseach to note that the legislation entitled Energy (Biofuel Obligation and Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2010 has now been altered quite dramatically by the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources, Deputy Eamon Ryan, who has tacked on an entire section dealing with the completely unrelated matter of carbon windfall taxes for electricity generators. Although it now seems to be common for Ministers to add at a late stage in the debate sections which have absolutely nothing to do with the rest of the Bill, I do not think it is good practice. It is quite dangerous in terms of ensuring proper scrutiny of legislation. The same thing happened during the passage of the Communications Regulation (Premium Rate Services and Electronic Communications Infrastructure) Bill 2009, to which a totally unrelated part was added at the last minute.

I ask the Taoiseach to rein in his Minister a little. Nobody objects to the particular provision, but it should not be done in this way. The legislation dealing with bio-fuels has now morphed into something completely different because of amendments introduced at the eleventh hour.

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