Imelda Munster (Louth, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Seanad amendments Nos. 1 and 2 seek to reverse two amendments of mine which were agreed by this House on Report Stage. On Tuesday night, the Minister saw fit to have my amendments, and several other amendments, removed in the Seanad. The Government showed a total disregard for the democratic process by refusing to allow time for a proper debate. Instead, it pushed its own amendments through. All of this was facilitated in the Seanad the other night by Fianna Fáil, which said one thing to local residents before stabbing them in the back by supporting the Government on Tuesday night. I was happy that Fianna Fáil had supported the two Sinn Féin amendments passed by this House on Report Stage. By facilitating the farce in the Seanad, Fianna Fáil has undone the work we had done in here. I hope it will redeem itself today by voting with the Opposition against the Government's amendments. We will see how that pans out later this afternoon. My two amendments, which were agreed on Report Stage, sought to put "the well-being and health of local residents" on a statutory footing. The first of them sought to ensure consideration is given to "the well-being and health of local residents" when decisions are being made on noise levels at Dublin Airport. The second of them sought to put an onus on the authority to report on "the impact of the decision on .... local residents", as well as on the extent to which the requirements of residents are taken into consideration. The Minister will argue that the health of residents is covered elsewhere in EU regulations, as others have said, but there is no reason it should not be included in our national legislation too. Our efforts to safeguard the health of people should be given a legislative backing. I will vote against the amendments made by the Minister in the Seanad.

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