Clare Daly (Dublin North, United Left) | Oireachtas source

While I will not repeat the discussions we have had over the days during which we discussed the Report Stage amendments, I echo Deputy Wallace's point. The considered and detailed work the environment committee did in preparation for the Bill has largely been ignored in the end product. Although I might have criticised the conclusions the committee came to, I look back on those days and think if the Government had even listened to what the environment committee unanimously proposed, we would be in a much healthier position. It is a tragic lost opportunity. Passing the Bill will be meaningless. If we do not pass it, we would still be obligated to produce legislation, but the onus would be on us to produce something meaningful with targets.

People from my constituency have contacted me to say they believe this is the biggest issue facing society - I agree with them - and to ask how in God's name I could support anything that has no substance to it whatsoever. Obviously, the answer is that I could not. I am reminded of the debate we had when the Protection of Life During Pregnancy Bill 2013 was introduced by the Government. It was proposed as a positive measure that was supposedly the first piece of abortion legislation in the history of the State. At that time, we had to find ourselves opposing it because while it allowed for some abortion in limited circumstances, it criminalised the activity and allowed many problems to remain. This Bill is quite similar. If it is passed, there is no doubt it will lead to Ireland continuing to miss its targets, lagging way behind and being liable for financial charges for not keeping pace with its obligations. The human cost of our lack of action is more important than the financial cost. I am unable to support the passing of this Bill for those reasons.

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