Gerry Adams (Louth, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Tá ceist agam faoin Redress for Women Resident in Certain Institutions Bill agus Climate Action and Low Carbon Development Bill. Although I raised elements of this during Taoiseach's questions, I was unsatisfied with the answers he gave. I am reflecting on the fact that in 2013 the Taoiseach apologised unreservedly to the survivors of the Magdalen laundries, said it was a national disgrace and said he had put in place a process to help and support the women. The Bill to facilitate this was published before Christmas and it has been a focus of extensive criticism from survivors, particularly the Justice for Magdalenes Research group, which described it as a massive clawback from what was promised in the redress scheme as proposed by Mr. Justice John Quirke. The advocacy groups said the Bill was unacceptable, unfair and full of broken promises. Will the Taoiseach withdraw the Bill and facilitate the speedy drafting of new legislation to implement the commitments which he and the Government made two years ago? If he is determined to proceed, when will the Bill be ordered for Second Stage?

According to a scientific report, 2014 was the warmest year on record and the economic and human cost of climate change is evident in the damage caused by extreme weather conditions, particularly increased insurance costs and lives lost. We have seen this in our communities and have debated it here. The Government's climate action and low carbon development Bill is three years behind schedule, has been widely criticised for its lack of ambition and fails to set out any long-term target for reducing Irish greenhouse gas emissions. While it talks grandly about making a transition to a low-carbon economy by 2015, it contains no specific definition of what a low-carbon economy is. It does not guarantee the independence needed for the expert advisory council. When will the Bill be brought before the Dáil?

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