Aideen Hayden (Labour) | Oireachtas source

As Members are aware the word "target" has come into this debate on a number of occasions and there are many targets. For example, the Europe 2020 strategy contains a European target for cutting emissions at a European level and so forth. I do not believe we should enshrine targets in legislation, which is where we should put provisions that are legally binding. While we can all aspire and targets can be very motivating, at the end of the day we have signed up to a number of international treaties that are binding on the country. This legislation has been a long time coming and has been welcomed by every organisation in the field. It is good legislation and it should not be undermined by defining in legislation things that I do not believe can be enshrined in legislation and which are purely targets.