Peter Burke (Longford-Westmeath, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I am conscious that this is the Senator's Bill. In the first instance, the Government is supporting it. We have no issue with the Senator's right to bring the Bill forward, but we believe that secondary legislation is the most appropriate mechanism to deliver this vital change. I listened to the Senators articulate their points of view on the benefits of this exemption and I fully agree with them. It has to be done, and we are doing it as quickly as we can. However, that does not give me, or anyone else for that matter, the right to evade or ignore the environmental thresholds that we have to go through.

In line with the strategic environmental assessment directive, we must have an SEA. We have done that. We engaged further through that with the Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications, Deputy Eamon Ryan, and his Department and it has been said clearly that we need a number of exemptions and exclusion zones. These exemptions will cover over 90% of the country. We need exclusion zones around airports. That necessitates going through an appropriate assessment, AA, which is currently working its way through the process. We have to go through the habitats directive in terms of an ecological assessment of what we are doing here. In the meantime, the SEA had to go through the tender process. That has concluded and, hopefully, the appropriate assessment will be finished shortly. Then it has to go to public consultation in line with the Aarhus Convention. There are significant environmental thresholds to go through before we can deliver this in a proper manner. One can quote Friends of the Earth and other organisations, but if I were to ignore environmental thresholds for another piece of public infrastructure, people would not be long in telling me I was doing something wrong.

This is a key, appropriate change and exemption that is badly needed in society and badly needed for schoolchildren so they can grow up in a culture where they can see we are being responsible and delivering a change and transition in our economy from the ground up, but it takes time. Unfortunately, swiftness and environmental thresholds do not always align. One has to go through the process set down in European directives and SEAs, and quite rightly because we have to see any impacts or unintended consequences they may throw up. That takes time. I appreciate that it can be frustrating, but we are working as hard as we can. We expect to have it concluded within a few months. Consultants have now been appointed through the SEA process. We are waiting for the ecological study to be returned, which we do not expect to take too long. However, we still have to go through that process. Obviously, with that we have to get a positive resolution from both Houses of the Oireachtas, and we do not anticipate any issue with that. We have to hear the submissions and what people have to say as well through that process. It takes time, so I plead with people. There is no issue with the Bill going through the House. That is quite right to keep the pressure on the topic. At the same time, however, the proper and appropriate mechanism is through secondary legislation, and that is the process in which we are engaging.