Dáil debates

Wednesday, 8 March 2023

Environmental Protection Agency (Emergency Electricity Generation) (Amendment) Bill 2023: Committee and Remaining Stages

 

4:22 pm

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

This Bill is very similar to the earlier Act which provided for An Bord Pleanála in the context of being able to apply Article 2(4) of the environmental impact assessment directive with regard to consideration by An Bord Pleanála. This is a similar provision. We are replicating the provision in this Act in section 3 to give the same requirements. It is being done on the advice of the Attorney General. This is exceptional wording because these are exceptional circumstances and this is exceptional legislation. It is not in any way in the ordinary course of things to be expected to have to be putting through emergency legislation to get power generation in place. The former Attorney General, and this has been replicated by the current one, stated that we needed this text and provision to be contained in the legislation to ensure we were able to progress in a timely manner.

It must still very much have regard to and be "consistent with the plans, strategy, framework and objectives referred to in section 15(1) of the Climate Action and Low Carbon Development Act 2015". I argue, as I think I did yesterday when we had Second Stage debate, that is very much in line with the provisions of the climate action plan 2023, which in a sense is the implementing plan for that 2015 Act. In that plan, we explicitly state we will need backup, flexible, gas-fired power generation to ensure that on those exceptional days when all other power sources are unavailable, we will be able to turn to these alternative sources rather than turning off the lights. I believe, therefore, that this Bill is in line with our climate plan and our climate law. We do need to make provision for this flexible generation while we move towards a 100% renewable low-carbon system. This will take a decade and a half probably, so this is consistent in my mind. It is on the advice of the Attorney General that these provisions were put in. Having done it in the earlier legislation, I am not going to take a different approach here.

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