Lynn Boylan (Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the MEPs. We are all talking about climate change today, and I would like to raise the issue of the energy charter treaty. I would like to hear the views of the three MEPs as to where they stand that issue, and whether or not they support the call for Ireland to leave the energy charter treaty now that we know that the modernisation process has failed and that the investor-state dispute settlement, ISDS, mechanism will remain in the energy charter treaty. Some of the bad faith actors are using the excuse that intra-EU disputes will not be taken to the ISDS courts, but we know that the ISDS courts have actually rejected all of those appeals and are continuing to prosecute intra-EU disputes. I also note that last week, Poland drafted its own legislation to withdraw from the treaty. It is particularly relevant in light of the fact that we have heard a number of contributions on climate justice. Part of the modernisation process is to expand this treaty, which is a dinosaur of the past. It was put in place to protect the fossil fuel industry back in the 1990s when we were liberalising our energy sector. We are living the disastrous reality of that now when we cannot actually control prices in our own country because we liberalised energy. This treaty is from that time. It beggars belief to think that the EU is now pursuing the expansion of the treaty into the global south, which will leave those countries widely exposed to ISDS challenges or to chilling for any measures they try to take to tackle climate change. These are fossil fuel-rich countries and they will not be able to make choices about whether or not to use those fossil fuels, because they will be subject to the ISDS mechanism if they sign up to this treaty, which is being pursued. I would be most interested to hear the views of the MEPs on that treaty, and whether or not they will support that call for Ireland to withdraw from it. We know that Poland has drafted legislation to withdraw from the treaty. Italy has already withdrawn from it because it lost a case in the last few week, in which €2.4 billion was awarded to the Rockhopper oil company because Italy tried to prevent the exploitation of oil and gas off its coastline.

The other issue I would be interested to hear about, and again it is linked to the environment, concerns the undermining of the Aarhus Convention, and particularly the Irish Government's approach to the convention. There is a lot of talk about nimbyism and judicial reviews delaying important infrastructure and housing projects. I understand that the European Commission has very grave concerns about Ireland's approach to addressing this issue, and trying to prevent people from having access to justice and the right to participate. Nobody wants to delay any projects going ahead, particularly renewable energy projects. We need to fast-track them as much as possible, but we cannot sideline communities and prevent them having their say. I would be interested to hear if the MEPs are aware that the European Commission has raised these concerns with the Irish Government and, if not or if so, whether they are going to take them up with their relevant parties and outline their concerns that Ireland seems to be trying to undermine its Aarhus obligations.