Eamon Ryan (Dublin Bay South, Green Party) | Oireachtas source

It is appropriate that Deputy Canney was the last speaker because I want to say to him that I absolutely respect every Deputy in this House, their integrity in putting forward amendments and their representative role in trying to strengthen the Bill. However, I will not be accepting this group of amendments because I believe the Bill has real strength and these proposals would not strengthen it further. That is not to disrespect any Deputy and what he or she seeks to do or achieve.

These amendments revolve around the issue of just transition and the role it has in climate action. I agree it is critical and central. In considering this issue, I called to mind the change in the political climate since 2015, when the original legislation was introduced. In raising this, I mean no reflection on Deputy Naughten, who was involved in bringing forward that legislation, but, rather, that the 2015 Act reflected the political climate that existed at the time. Several of the amendments relate to the Long Title of the Bill. The Long Title of the 2015 Act, which is the precursor to this Bill, is quite succinct and includes the words "for the purpose of pursuing the transition to a low carbon, climate resilient and environmentally sustainable economy". The Long Title of this Bill is a refection of a change that has occurred since 2015. It is similar to the 2015 text but there are important differences. It refers to "the transition to a climate resilient, biodiversity rich and climate neutral economy by no later than the end of the year 2050" - the inclusion of a target date is critical - and also includes the words "and to thereby promote climate justice". At the centre of the Long Title, and right through the Bill, is the understanding that climate justice must involve a social as well as an ecological transition. That is to say it must be a just transition. The respect I have for the Oireachtas and its processes is reflected in the fact that the amendment to include the reference to just transition, as well as the climate justice provisions, came from the Oireachtas committee. It was not drafted by our public servants, as good a job as they have done, but, rather, it came out of the pre-legislative scrutiny process, which was, in effect, almost a Committee Stage process in that it went through the text line by line and word by word.

The reason I mention 2015 specifically is that there is a particular profound change that has happened since then, namely, that we now have the Paris Agreement. This Bill is very strong legislation, which is why it is difficult to accept amendments. Every single line and word in it has been teased out and thought about at real length over the past year. A key wording in the Bill and one of its strengths, which we discussed during the Committee Stage debate, is the requirement that what we do be consistent with the Paris Agreement. That is where the legal structure exists. The requirement for climate justice relates not just to international justice, although that is central, specifically the recognition that those who have done most to cause the problem have the greatest responsibility to solve it. In addition, there is our own definition of climate justice, as referred to by Deputy Michael Collins, which requires that there be a sharing of the burden in this country and protection for our most vulnerable persons. In our definition and in our attention to the requirement of just transition, it is those communities that are most potentially affected that will have to be cared for the most. That is centre stage right throughout the Bill.

We can all get heated and partial in this debate. I see Deputy Michael Collins has come back into the Chamber. He may have missed what I said at the start of my contribution. I absolutely respect his engagement with people in west Cork communities, on whose behalf he is seeking to amend the Bill. I differ in my view as to whether particular amendments would strengthen the Bill but I respect his intention in bringing them forward. We will not make this transition if there is not a sense that it is for everyone. It is for every single person and community, no one will be talked down to and nobody can, would or will be ignored.

I am particularly attentive to the needs of the farming community. I assure Deputy Canney that I have been talking to farmers as well and am aware that they are concerned. I am particularly aware that the existing system we have to transition out of is not a just system for farming. We do not have young people going into the sector and we are losing farmers. We need to change that. The farming community was particularly concerned in recent meetings I had with its representatives about the wording in the Bill around sinks. The question is whether there will be payment for sinks, not just sources. I looked at this in detail and talked to my officials at length about it. I looked at it right the way through and it seems, in fact, that we do have to account for sinks. We must follow the original UN Framework Convention on Climate Change in terms of its accounting mechanism. That is important for farming because, in my view, it gives us the potential to develop a new income source for Irish agriculture.

This is going to be good for Irish farming or else it will not work. This will bring in a new generation of young people, otherwise we will not achieve the protection of nature and the storing of carbon that we need.

This will not be easy. It will take time. One of the reasons there is pressure to get this Bill through is that we want to include this year and do not want to wait another. We are on a tight timetable. We must get this through before the summer recess so we do not have to wait another year. In the remainder of this year and into next year, it will change and it will keep going. As Deputy Bruton said, we will need to sit down and work out in real detail how we actually create the mechanisms to get that income for Irish farming. Moreover, this is not just about farming but it is about the trade unions, workers and communities as well.

I heard some people say Government cannot be trusted. This Bill will apply even if there is a change in Government. A future Parliament could always change it but I do not think it will because the whole world is going to be going in this direction and we will not want to shy away from the opportunities that will arise. The trust in this is in the detail. We cannot legislate here. This is setting out the structure and putting climate justice at the centre of everything we do. This is about how a target is actually set and then Government starts considering how we do it, and it is for Government. Central Government is needed, working with the Oireachtas. I am absolutely convinced we can and will be good at this. It will only work when we respect every section of our community in every part of our country, if we ask for help rather than telling people what to do and if we admit uncertainty. We will do this well, we will be good at it and it will be good for all our people. It will be a just transition.

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