Sean Barrett (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I move amendment No. 29:

In page 18, line 2, to delete "18 months" and substitute "6 months".

This amendment relates to the start of the expert advisory council's work. The Minister of State indicated that the advisory council was set up in June and all of its members had been appointed. The process is, therefore, further ahead than the Oireachtas in that the legislation has not yet been signed into law. The advisory council shall, according to the legislation, prepare the periodic review within 18 months. Is it able to prepare it earlier or must we wait for 18 months? I had hoped a periodic review would be published within six months. That was the purpose. Given that the council has, in view of the urgency of the matter, started its work, will it be ready in time? This amendment pertains to other delays that are mentioned in the Bill.

l will cite comments made in the international context as we prepare for the Paris summit.According to Taryn Fransen from the World Resources Institute, the vast majority of the intended nationally determined contributions or INDCs this time around - 105 of them - contain concrete greenhouse gas mitigation targets. This, she added, contrasts with the figure of 27 for the Copenhagen summit, the failed conference that took place in the Danish capital in 2009. Ms Fransen stated:

You have quite a few more countries that are now specifying absolute decreases in emissions levels. You have countries like China, South Africa and Singapore talking about peaking emissions through a hard cap. Even much smaller countries like Ethiopia, Bhutan and Costa Rica are identifying absolute limits on the quantity of emissions. I think that signals a real evolution.

If the expert advisory council is already up and running and the rest of the world is getting ahead of us, perhaps the Minister will ask Professor Fitzgerald and his colleagues to submit their report as quickly as possible rather than delaying for 18 months after the establishment day, which could be two years from now, depending on when the Bill is passed, signed into law by the President, commenced and so forth. Will the Minister of State provide evidence on Report Stage or in the near future that it is intended to move pretty quickly in this matter?