Eamon Ryan (Dublin Bay South, Green Party) | Oireachtas source

I do not believe it is appropriate for us to try to address every international agreement, trade or otherwise. Climate will affect every aspect of our lives, not just trade but other aspects as well which could be subject to compensation or judicial review from investors or others. I do not think it is appropriate.

Time and again, I have seen that some of the amendments are trying to solve other problems through this Bill. This Bill focuses on the specifics of how the State organises itself. Its primary target is how Departments, Ministers and the agencies of the State act. To try to address every international trade or other agreement and to determine the approach that may be taken in that would be an impossible task.

Having said that, in regard to the limitation of liability, it is appropriate to make provision for that because justiciability is a significant and important part of the Bill. The decision taken last year by the Supreme Court under Chief Justice Frank Clarke, and the approach it took in effectively annulling a Bill, is an appropriate measure. For us to bring this Bill to the courts on an unending basis, where every single action would be seen as potentially subject to compensation, would have been inappropriate. For this reason, the Government agreed to an amendment, as set out, on the limitation of liability. It is not to weaken the courts actions but to clarify the kind of remedy the court might take. That is an appropriate decision. It has been made in other legislation and we repeated it here.