Paudie Coffey (Waterford, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

To be clear, there is no intention on the part of anybody in the Government to ignore the Seanad on any matter. Indeed, I greatly value the views of Senators, as do all my ministerial colleagues. I listened carefully to what they had to say on Committee Stage and we had a very interesting debate. We have tabled Government amendments which will address the concerns expressed by Senators Barrett and Quinn by requiring reports to be laid before both Houses of the Oireachtas. That will ensure there is effective scrutiny of all proposals in this area.

Amendment No. 3 proposes that the national adaptation framework be adopted by resolution of both Dáil and Seanad after its approval by the Government. I understand the intent behind the amendment but I cannot accept it. As things currently stand, it is the Government that approves the framework. Ceding this type of policy decision-making to the Oireachtas as a whole would be a substantive amendment and would harm the requirement to hold Ministers and Departments to account for their decision-making in policy terms. The Government properly should be held accountable to the Oireachtas for its decisions in respect of the adaptation policy measures. If decision-making in this regard were ceded to the Oireachtas as a whole, the question then arises as to whom the Oireachtas would be held accountable, other than the electorate, which may not be more often than every five years.

There is already provision in section 14 of the Bill for Ministers to make annual transition statements presenting an overview of the measures in regard to both mitigation and adaptation as well as an assessment of the effectiveness of those measures. This provides a clear and more valuable level of accountability than what the Senators are proposing. Therefore, I cannot accept the amendment.