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

I will respond first on the issue concerning the Government. I keep coming back to section 5(3) because it is the core of the Bill in terms of having to be consistent with the ultimate objective specified in Article 2 of the United Nations framework and Article 2 of the Paris Agreement. The reference is "The Minister and the Government shall carry out their respective functions" in a manner that is consistent with the requirements. There is provision for the whole of the Government to be centrally involved.

With regard to publication, again central to this will be the involvement of the Oireachtas. As we go through the stages in terms of agreeing budgets and sectoral provisions, the Oireachtas will be centrally involved. As a mechanism whereby the Minister can be tested and questioned and will have to present and explain the budget, the national climate strategy, the climate action plan and the budget process, at every step of the way we will have the same sort of opportunity we have had here today for the Minister to explain his or her thinking on the approach that is made. That is the reason I come back to saying that we should retain the power with the Minister.

The reason the Bill is such a powerful system-change legislation is that it does set the overall objectives that any Minister, whoever he or she is, is going to have to follow. That is a protection and that is the reason this legislation is so powerful and so important.