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

I thank the Senators very much. I am happy to continue the debate we had on Committee Stage. I will not be accepting the amendments. I reiterate a point I made on Committee Stage, which is that this Bill is designed to require the State to set out its internal processes and structures to deliver on our objectives under the UN Paris Agreement on climate. It is not going to resolve the range of different issues involved, including this issue of free trade agreements, the issue of the relative roles or powers involved in the investor court dispute resolution mechanisms and a range of other issues. We will not resolve those issues in our debate here. I understand that our courts will be examining the matter in the coming weeks. To my mind, it is not relevant to the structures we are setting up and putting in place. There are mechanisms within various trade agreements whereby environmental treaties, including the Paris Agreement, must be taken into account. Rather than trying to resolve that whole issue within this Bill, which would not be possible or effective in any way, it is better to focus on what the Bill actually does. It organises how we, as a State, are to manage meeting our climate objectives under the Paris Agreement. It is increasingly recognised in international law, including in the area of trade agreements and investor-state agreements, that such agreements cannot be in breach of an international agreement signed by 198 countries. It is recognised that this agreement has primacy and is not subject to the kind of litigation this amendment seeks to protect against. I cannot accept the amendment.