Ivana Bacik (Independent)

I welcome the Minister of State and I welcome the publication of this historic Bill. The Labour Party will support it, with criticisms because we feel it does not go far enough. We are also critical of the Government for the unconscionable delay in introducing the Bill. This is a most unfortunate time to introduce it, when we are well into the fourth year and dying days of this failed Government. Having said that, we will be opposing the Fine Gael amendment to delay the Bill further because we believe this is too important a principle to delay further. There is, indeed, cross-party agreement on the need for climate change law. The Bill is flawed because it does not go far enough in ensuring that we will meet targets already set by the EU and we believe there are a number of ways in which the Bill can be improved. I welcome the Minister of State's statement that he will accept amendments on Committee Stage. I will be submitting amendments to strengthen and improve the Bill.

I pay tribute to groups such as Friends of the Earth and others involved in the Stop Climate Chaos coalition, which have been involved for a long time in trying to get this Bill on the agenda. It is most unfortunate that we see it so late in the lifetime of the Government.

Because of this delay, the principles in the Bill are an undue dilution of those set out in the programme for Government and in the more recent framework document of December 2009. The Bill is also weaker than the cross-party Bill produced by the Joint Committee on Climate Change and Energy Security, which formed the basis of Deputy Liz McManus's Bill introduced in the Dáil last year. The Bill is considerably weaker than the cross-party mechanisms already agreed and weaker than the Government's own framework document. There seems to have been a dilution, perhaps because of the delay and the behind-the-scenes haggling that may have gone on. The delay also leaves less time for transparent public consultation. Groups like the Irish Farmers' Association are concerned at the lack of public consultation and at the fact the public consultation period is not due to finish until 28 January, after consideration of the Bill has commenced in the House.

The Labour Party has reservations about the timing and condemns the Government for the delay. Having said that, we will support the Bill because it is in keeping with the progressive principle of ensuring legislation to control our carbon emissions and meet reductions targets. We do not believe further delay would be justified.

Three and a half years ago, I introduced a Bill that would have done the same thing this Bill seeks to do. It could have been accepted by the Government at any time during the last three and a half years. It is unfortunate that it was not. I will submit amendments on Committee Stage and I will have more time next week, on the resumption of Second Stage, to explain what those amendments will be about. In particular, I will seek to address the inadequacy of the targets set and the lack of interim deadlines before 2020. The 2020 target is too far off. There should be five year target periods, as in Deputy Liz McManus's Bill, which would make it more likely that we would meet targets as we go along.

I will also be dealing with the independence of the body, which it seems is no longer a climate change commission, that will monitor implementation of the Bill. I also ask the Minister of State why there is an absence of any reference to carbon budgets in the Bill. That was a stated objective of the programme for Government. I note the Minister of State said in his speech that he believes carbon budgets are too narrow a mechanism. Does this represent a change in Green Party policy on carbon budgets?

I also ask spokespersons for Fianna Fáil what is Fianna Fáil policy on the Bill. I listened to Senator Camillus Glynn's speech but I am really not sure whether Fianna Fáil is as behind the Bill as their colleagues in the Green Party. We will also be addressing the non-justiciability of the Bill. There is an extraordinary clause in subsection 3(2). The Minister of State has said he may accept amendments on this. I would simply seek to delete the subsection. It is for the courts to rule on what aspects of the Bill are justiciable or not. The clause is most unusual. Its only import is that it appears to weaken the impact of the Bill. My Bill and the proposals of the Joint Committee on Climate Change and Energy Security would have provided for more sanctions for Governments that failed to meet the targets.

The Labour Party welcomes the concept of climate change law. We are signed up to the principle of legislation to set binding targets on this and future Governments. We are concerned about the weaknesses in the Bill and the possibility that any Government elected this year will have no set date by which it must reach its target, given that the first date is specified to be 2020. It is unfortunate there is not a five year target period.