Rebecca Moynihan (Labour) | Oireachtas source

I was not going to contribute on these amendments but I wish to speak on the amendment related to the Aarhus Convention.It could be argued that even though we have signed up to the Aarhus Convention, it does not need to be included in this Bill. Colm Keena wrote an interesting article in The Irish Timesabout access to judicial reviews and how the Government is looking at limiting access to judicial review through the courts, particularly in the area of environmental planning and legislation. This is an important amendment. I have questions about how the Government has moved to the strategic housing development, SHD, process and whether it fulfils Ireland's obligations under the Aarhus Convention. There is certainly a strong case under the convention if the Government moves to limit both the right of people to have participation in environmental and planning decisions under the process and access to the courts. That is a significant move the Government has been floating in recent months. This is an important amendment because it will put specific reference to the Aarhus Convention into the legislation. The Government is already slicing and dicing its obligations under the convention, which is a dangerous road to be going down. While people might say we have signed up to convention, there is a strong case to be made for making this amendment.