Pauline O'Reilly (Green Party) | Oireachtas source

The concerns that were raised were valid ones. Farmers were concerned that sequestration was not going to be taken into account. As I said on Friday, anything that we can do to allay farmers' concerns is very important. We are all on the same side. As Senator Garvey stated, and I said last week, we recognise that farmers are the custodians of the land. The work they do must be taken into account when we are coming up with that calculation.

It is important to remember that the carbon budget means the total amount of greenhouse gases, which would take into account both the reductions and the increases. However, we must be very clear that sequestration is only a small part of what has to be done. Farmers need to be paid for their work, whether that is in sequestration or the reduction of emissions. It is only right that we look at the science when we are deciding how it is measured. The concern might have been that it was just an emissions target, set in a blasé manner. This amendment will empower both the Minister and the council to look at the science and come back with that in relation to the calculation.

I wish to make an important point on public participation. Public participation features throughout this Bill. It is not coming up to the same extent in the amendments but it is key to the Bill. To ensure a just transition, the Minister is required to "support persons and communities that may be negatively affected by the transition". That is key to this Bill and it includes farmers. As the Minister said last week, the Bill goes well beyond the obligations under the Aarhus Convention on public participation. Therefore, people need not fear that they will be left out of this conversation. They will not be left out when it comes to the actions the Government and Minister are taking. They will be included and will have input at every stage. That is what is outlined in the Bill. We should not forget that. We should be honest and truthful when we are speaking about the Bill.