Richard Bruton (Dublin Bay North, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

The ordering of business in the Dáil is entirely a matter for it; it not one for which I am accountable. On the wider issue of Deputy Smith's Bill, it is not one I support. The reality is that in any transition to a carbon neutral environment Ireland will have a high dependence on gas. Until the discovery of the Corrib gasfield, we were 90% to 95% dependent on imported gas to support our needs. As a result of the discovery of the Corrib gasfield, this figure has dropped to one third. I must be mindful of the need for energy security in the path to decarbonising the energy environment. I recognise why Deputy Bríd Smith has brought forward the Bill, but I do not believe it is consistent in following the path we need to follow. I am wholly committed to achieving the decarbonisation of the economy along the lines we have committed to following.

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