Sean Barrett (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I move amendment No. 33:

In page 21, between lines 11 and 12, to insert the following:"(7) If the Government do not accept an assessment of the Climate Change Advisory Council, the Minister shall, within 2 months of being given a copy of the assessment, prepare and lay before both Houses of the Oireachtas a statement of the Government's reasons for not accepting it.".

This amendment is to be seen in a context of where the Government does not accept an assessment of the Climate Change Advisory Council. It provides that having received the assessment, the Minister should prepare and lay before both Houses of the Oireachtas a statement of the Government's reasons for not accepting it. This is the dialogue that is necessary. The IFAC model was mentioned in the other House. If in this context the Minister for Finance, Deputy Michael Noonan, has case A and Professor John McHale and his cohort have case B, that is the way the discussion should take place. There should be no attempt to try to hush it up; rather it should be stated the Government has formed a completely different view from that of the Climate Change Advisory Council, that it is putting its case before the public and that the court of public opinion will decide which is the best way to proceed.