Thomas Pringle (Donegal, Independent) | Oireachtas source

Yes, but he said they have to retain flexibility to be able to do other things. That flexibility is what leads to continued investment in fossil fuel companies.

The Minister of State also said ISIF is divesting from tobacco companies because investments in them outweigh any potential commercial return. That is what is happening with fossil fuels. The potential return from fossil fuels is declining exponentially and investments in them are totally unstable. The Bill deals with this issue. If we decide to move away from fossil fuels, we can move to more secure investments that will benefit all of our citizens over a long period of time.

Words must be backed up by actions. The only way we can be sure actions will back up words is by ensuring that the Bill is passed and an obligation placed on ISIF to divest from fossil fuels.

The Minister of State states that ISIF is in the process of divesting, but it currently has 152 investments in various fossil fuel companies around the world. As Deputy Joan Collins outlined, these include TransCanada building a tar sands pipeline, which is crazy stuff, and Peabody Energy investing in coal. We also have Exxon Mobil. The list goes on forever. In asking for the Bill to be withdrawn today, the Minister is asking for the flexibility ISIF enjoys to be maintained so it can choose to invest in those companies. Its ethical policy states that it does not want to invest in them, but it wants to maintain that potential in the event that it sees an opportunity to make a return. We need to take the flexibility away because history has shown us that without rigid controls we will not achieve our targets. We will not achieve our emission targets in 2020 and we will suffer fines and we will face the same problems in the future if we do not have the legislative backing to ensure that our investments are divested and ethical. This Bill sends out a strengthened and wider picture of our commitment to building a carbon neutral society, which is vitally important.

We have a climate change advisory council, but the Minister of State did not mention its advice on the Bill's potential to contribute to the mitigation of climate change. Perhaps the Minister of State's silence in his contribution in this regard is because it is in favour of the Bill and sees its merits.

I look forward to participating in the debate on Committee Stage and to the Bill being amended to make it more reflective of what is required. I recognise that some problems have been identified with the Bill, but no Bill is perfect on Second Stage. I also know that the non-governmental organisations are looking forward to contributing to the process, which is vitally important.

I thank the Members for their support. It is a wee bit embarrassing to hear people praising me for proposing the Bill, but I am reminded of a saying: it is only because I stood on the shoulders of giants that I was able to propose the Bill. The work and the heavy lifting was done by those in the Visitors Gallery who pushed it forward and by the ordinary citizens of Ireland throughout the country who lobbied hard to ensure the Bill got over the line. They are the people who should be proud tonight because they have contributed to change for the good.

If we want to ensure that the planet has a future, not only Ireland but the whole planet has to take climate change seriously. We have to make brave decisions, including investment decisions, and we have to ensure that those decisions are underpinned by legislation that drives this forward and makes it happen.

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