Ciarán Ahern (Dublin South West, Labour)

I am aware of that. They said we will never be able to properly develop an indigenous biofuels industry as long as that happens. I know the Minister is aware of these concerns. I welcome the regulations he has introduced to end the additional incentives that existed for the use of POME. The concerns, however, have not gone away. There is still POME from the Far East entering Irish and European markets. The issue is that it is certified as a waste product outside of the EU, where it is impossible to verify, so there is still strong suspicion of fraud in the supply chain.

There are also concerns around crop-based biofuels more generally and their negative environmental impact, including land use change, deforestation, biodiversity loss, etc. The Minister has not ruled out limiting the importation of POME, which is something we should do. We are taking a good step towards enabling the development of our biofuels industry but, as I said, POME is still a big issue.

The green public procurement, GPP, element of the Bill is a really positive step. Having centralised criteria and guidance will, I hope, significantly shift public spending towards low-impact goods and services and enable us to better achieve our circular economy goals. It is important that the State leads on this and the public sector sets the example for the private sector. The Bill does not set out the relevant criteria, instead conferring power on the Minister to designate a public body to prepare them. I hope they include quantifiable indicators rather than just broad principles. One aspect of this should be that providers contracted under GPP for the delivery of goods, services or works commit to engaging in collective bargaining and that they recognise trade unions representing their workers. There was a massive missed opportunity in the most recent GPP action plan to enhance collective bargaining rights in Ireland. The absence of both that and trade union recognition generally in the socially responsible public procurement principles is a gaping hole in those documents. The inclusion of trade union recognition and collective bargaining rights in GPP contracts is a must if we are serious about achieving a just transition. Addressing the climate and biodiversity crisis will require a restructuring of our economy and a significant change in how we go about things. Green public procurement is an important part of that change. We must use it as a vehicle to protect workers and improve their rights, pay and conditions.

The fight against climate change is inseparable from the fight against inequality, including wage and wealth inequality. As per the EU's adequate minimum wages directive, which we still have not properly transposed, the best way to improve people's wages is through collective bargaining. The Labour Party has always maintained that we face enormous challenges in transitioning to a clean, sustainable economy but there are also enormous opportunities. There is an opportunity here, through the GPP process, to improve trade union coverage across Ireland, improve wages and living standards and make the climate transition work for workers. Under the GPP process, I ask, at the very least, that those who engage in collective bargaining and recognise their workers' trade union are looked on favourably in considerations of contract awards. That should be included in the criteria.

Also on the GPP aspect of the Bill, and similar to the point I made regarding the enforcement mechanisms, or lack thereof, in the timelines for EPA licence decisions, there does not seem to be very much by way of consequences where public bodies continually fail to integrate the GPP criteria when awarding contracts. I can accept there will be instances where it is not possible to do so and I welcome that public bodies, when they do not do it, will have to publish their reasoning for not doing so, but, as with the EPA reporting on when statutory timelines are not met, the question is what happens then. We could strengthen the commitment to GPP among public bodies if there was some degree of enforcement. Repeat offenders, for example, could be made to submit and enact a corrective action plan after a certain threshold of non-compliance is met.

I reiterate my support for the Bill in broad terms. It is positive in what it sets out to achieve. I have identified issues with it but they are not entirely insurmountable and do not require us to go back to the drawing board. A few amendments here and there will, I hope, suffice. I look forward to coming back to the issues I have outlined on Committee Stage.

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