Paudie Coffey (Waterford, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

This amendment seeks to replace the phrase “have regard to” with the phrase “comply with” in section 3(2), which deals with matters that must be considered when the Government approves a national mitigation plan or national adaptation framework. I appreciate the sentiment behind the proposed amendment. However, as the list of items to be considered in section 3(2) may sometimes compete with one another, it may not always be possible to be fully consistent with all of them simultaneously when approving either national plan. Moreover, in the case of section 3(2)(e), it does not make sense to comply with the most recent national greenhouse gas emissions inventory and projections of future missions. Accordingly, I believe the phrase “having regard to” is the more appropriate in this instance because it requires a balancing of considerations rather than strict compliance with each. I am unable, therefore, to accept the amendment.